Code Lyoko: Reloaded
by Lord Maximus
Summary: The final episode of Series One of Code Lyoko: Reloaded has ended. The search for Yumi and Ulrich, the return of Xana, and the mysteries of the past. The adventure continues as they soon must try to recover what is dear to them.
1. Chapter 1

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Xana while possessing Ulrich's body held his sword firing a green laser at Lyoko's Core. Down below Aelita and Yumi were fighting their way while avoiding lasers from the Flying Mantas. 

"Energy Field!" shouted Aelita.

She fired a pink orb of energy but the Manta avoided the attack. Another Manta flew in and fired at Yumi who blocked with both of her hands. Aelita jumped back as the Manta fired back at her but she was hit and ejected back into the real world. Her scanner opened and she stepped out.

She looked down to see Jim sleeping with a big smile on his face. The transport orb landed in the arena to reveal Odd. The door opened and Odd ran out as fast as he could. The Manta kept firing lasers as Yumi yelled and threw her fans but the monster avoided it and fired. Yumi flipped back but she was hit twice and forced to devirtualize but her fan flew back and hit the monster in the back.

It exploded into thousands of tiny Xana logos as Yumi faded into data as well. Her scanner opened up and she saw what was on the floor.

"Who went and left our gym teacher on the floor asleep?" she asked jokingly.

Finally without any distractions Xana attacked using his power through the body he possessed.

"Odd move it. There's only shield layer left protecting the core of Lyoko." said Jeremy.

"Yeah, uh? Easy for you to say. I've only got two legs you know."

Odd ran out and noticed the Overboard.

"Oh perfect timing, Einstein."

He jumped onto the Overboard and flew down to bottom of the giant floating sphere and through the moving door. Xana fired another beam of green light from his sword that hit the shield layer blasting away at the last line of defense.

"Odd, one more hit with his saber and the last shield layer is destroyed." said Jeremy.

Xana prepared the final blow when out of nowhere three arrows flew through the air and hit him knocking him down.

"Ow!"

Odd flew into the Core room on his Overboard. The last Flying Manta immediately flew into action and attacked. They flew around the core.

"Laser Arrow!"

Odd's signature battle cry was heard as he fired and hit the Manta destroying it. Xana got up and noticed Odd ram into him with the Overboard knocking his saber out of his hand. Odd jumped off the Overboard and landed on the stairs. He hopped over them and landed in front of Xana.

"Triplicate!" he said through Ulrich's voice smirking.

However the Overboard flew back in ramming into a copy and Odd immediately shot the other one. However while Odd was distracted Xana used super sprint to retrieve the fallen sword and blocked Odd's attack as he ran at the cat like warrior and knocked him off the platform. He prepared his final attack when he noticed Odd below him firing an arrow. Xana dodged the attack by mere inches and kicked Odd's hand sending him falling to the bottom of the core room.

Then as a small precaution Xana fired the green laser from his sword that devirtualized the last Lyoko Warrior. Finally the last obstacle was removed. Nothing could stop him. However he wanted more than just wipe out the last line of defense between him and victory.

He wanted to break his enemies.

Stretching out with his power he activated a tower. The scanner which held Ulrich's mind in his non-corporeal form suddenly activated. The Super Scan immediately detected the activated tower.

"Oh no!" said Jeremy.

Yumi, Odd, and Aelita entered the room.

"Jeremy! We couldn't devirtualize Ulrich!" said Aelita,

"I know but Xana has activated a tower! He's taken over the scanner that contain's Ulrich's mind and activated the virtualization sequence. I need to work fast. If he is sent back to Lyoko he might never make it back." said Jeremy.

"Than hurry!" shouted Yumi.

Xana had finally breached the last shield layer. He heard the screams of his enemies from the lab and allowed a chuckle to escape from the lips of the body he possessed. His body glowed pale green as he floated in front of the glowing orb that kept what was left of Lyoko together. With a yell he plunged the sword into the sphere which unleashed thousands volts of electricity that enveloped him in a flash of light.

"No!" shouted Jeremy,

"It can't be!" cried Aelita.

"ULRICH!" shouted Yumi.

In a great flash of light Carthage and Lyoko exploded and faded. However something was left as crimson lightning erupted through the dark space where Lyoko once was. At the center of it all was a boy. He wore a black body suit with dark red stripes down the arms and legs with the Eye of Xana ending at the hands.

Around his forehead was a completely black head band with the Eye of Xana on it as well. They were some bulky lines along his body which suggested he wore body armor underneath. There was also the handle of a weapon sticking from behind his left shoulder. His hands had metal gauntlets with short curved claws on each finger. He opened his eyes but they were not the same warm brown eyes his friends had always seen.

They were cold as ice, dead as a decaying carcass, and dark without a shred of emotion left in them.

He floated in space and roared as the crimson lightning became more intense around him. The Eye of Xana appeared on his chest and glowed red along with the ones on his head band and gloves.

Xana had finally achieved victory and gained an even greater prize.

Complete control over the empty body of one of his greatest enemies.

* * *

Everyone sat in the Hermitage. It was quiet except for the sound of Jeremy typing on his laptop, Yumi quietly sobbing, the occasional blow from Odd, and Aelita was silently crying herself. They had lost not only Lyoko but their friend and that caused them well up with emotions so great they let it out like a volcano that erupted from its dormant state. 

"With Lyoko gone we can no longer be able to stop Xana." said Jeremy, quietly.

It was true. Lyoko was their only line of defense against Xana and now it was gone and the last of their hope it seemed as well. Odd looked to see tears still coming down Yumi's cheeks and a large wet spot on the back of Jeremy's shirt indicated Aelita held onto him and cried hard after the ordeal. Suddenly the computer started beeping which caught Jeremy's attention.

"A message from the Internet . . . It's from Franz Hopper!"

Aelita looked up at that.

"My father . . ."

* * *

In a white endless void a chocolate haired boy slept soundlessly. A being only noticeable by purple white light that surrounded it gazed down at the boy. 

"Rest for now. You will return to your friends unharmed. I will make sure of it."


	2. Chapter 2

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Xana had won. 

The super program basked in these words. Despite all the efforts of those children he had won. He had freed himself from the supercomputer and he had destroyed Lyoko. Now he was invincible.

And he gained an even greater prize.

Xana struck gold when he learned of the accident when Jeremy attempted to send Ulrich to Sector 5 directly but instead separated his mind from his body. It was especially good because Ulrich was the strongest fighter. The samurai, a strong, fearless, agile, warrior and loyal to his friends. His loyalty to his friends will be their downfall.

The boy strived to improve himself which was an admirable trait in a soldier but had great potential. He pushed his body to his limit and sharpen his mind. The boy had such raw power! Power now in the hands of Xana.

If Ulrich's mind had merged with his body than the side effect of the virtualization process which builds resistance to Xana's control would have taken months before Ulrich would have been suitable vessel for Xana. However with his mind separated than Ulrich's body would be easy to upgrade to a super powered fighting machine. However even if Xana had achieved victory he knew the war was far from over. In fact it had only just begun.

However Xana was not the least bit frustrated or annoyed.

In fact he would have shivered in excitement. Let them come. Let them see the horror of which they have brought upon themselves.

* * *

Odd sat on his bed looking glumly at the bed across the room. The one that belonged to his roommate and friend. Kiwi sat on his master's lap trying to comfort his master. He may be a dog but he knew enough to know that something had upset his master. Ever since Lyoko was destroyed the gang had been rather gloomy. 

Yumi and Aelita took it the hardest because of losing Ulrich and the chance to reunite Aelita with her father. Aelita had locked herself in her room and only came out to classes but never spoke to anyone. Yumi was the same but at night when she got home she silently cried herself to sleep for not being able to save Ulrich. Jeremy had obsessed over the message Franz Hopper sent them.

Odd had stopped making jokes and his appetite had gone down considerably. In about two whole weeks that had last three important things; Lyoko, Franz Hopper, and last of all their strong and loyal friend Ulrich. Franz had managed to escape the Internet and hide in it while sending a message. Jeremy typed on the computer and pulled out his cell phone and dialed the numbers of each Lyoko Warrior.

* * *

"So what do you have to tell us?" asked Aelita, 

"As you know I modified the tracker program to locate Ulrich in the digital sea and after that I began to decode Franz Hopper's message." said Jeremy.

Odd sat down with his dog Kiwi and stroked his fur.

"So what is it?" asked the spiky blond,

"The special program is none other than blue prints to Carthage and Lyoko. It also includes a program that will allow us to be able to track Xana." said Jeremy.

"So we're going to search for Xana in the digital sea?" asked Yumi,

"No. The digital sea is nothing than a flood gate. We're going to be searching for Xana on the net." said Jeremy.

That left everyone staring at Jeremy.

"Seriously? The Internet? But how?" asked Odd,

"By a special program Franz sent that will allow us to travel onto the World Wide Network to track any signs of Xana's influence and hopefully Ulrich as well. The problem is once Lyoko is restored Xana will be able to attack with the towers and his monsters again." said Jeremy.

"We have no choice, Jeremy. It is the only way to stop Xana and save Ulrich and my father." said Aelita.

Jeremy nodded.

"We also may need some help. With us down a fighter it will only be harder to fight Xana." said Jeremy.

Yumi stood up.

"I guess we should talk to William."

Everyone looked at Yumi.

"I changed my mind. What?"

* * *

The group walked back onto school grounds without Jim spotting them and looked around. Soon enough they spotted the dark haired boy walking out of class. 

"You have to talk to him, Yumi." said Aelita,

"Why me?"

"Because he likes you." said Odd.

That was the first joke Odd had cracked since they lost Lyoko. Meanwhile a girl with long black hair and dressed in pink noticed Ulrich was missing from the group. Yumi went over to talk to William.

"Hey, William." said Yumi,

"Yeah, Yumi? What's up?"

"Remember a few days ago when you talked to me about that weird dream you had?"

William nodded with a puzzled look on his face. Sissy noticed Yumi grabbing William asking him to come along with the group. She silently followed them along and noticed them walking into the forest and open a hidden sewage hatch. She climbed down the ladder and followed them through the sewer.

She noticed them walking into the factory and followed them. Just as they closed the elevator Sissy rolled under the door and surprised everyone.

"Hello, everyone."

"Sissy!" shouted everyone.

"What are you doing here?" asked William,

"I should be asking you all the same thing! And where's Ulrich?" demanded Sissy.

Yumi suddenly grabbed Sissy by the collar.

"Listen up! If you think you can blackmail us than forget it! If you want to see Ulrich again than you'll keep you're big mouth shut and listen if you want to help us save him!"

Sissy was so shocked so only nodded silently. William was surprised as well. Yumi had never been this made before. The door opened to reveal what was inside that made William and Sissy's eyes go wide.

It was the lab. They asked what the place was and then they started to explain everything. They told them about the supercomputer they found and how Aelita was stuck on Lyoko. They then explained their fight against Xana and what happened to Ulrich.

"So that dream I had was real?" asked William,

"Yes. We voted on whether to let you in the group or not but one of us voted no. Sissy was apart of the group at the beginning but she broke the first rule of being a Lyoko Warrior; keep it a secret. The reason why we're telling you this is because we lost Ulrich and we need more help in fighting off Xana to save him." said Jeremy.

"So we're asking you, will you help us and keep Lyoko a secret?" asked Yumi.

William and Sissy looked at each other.

"I swear." said William,

"I may have caused you all trouble in the past but I want to help in any way I can. I swear, too." said Sissy.

"Good answer. Follow Odd and Yumi down to the scanners." said Jeremy.

They entered the elevator and went down one level and stepped into the scanner room.

"Step in the scanner so we can record a virtual image of you two into the supercomputer. It'll make you immune to the Returns' and make you two completely part of the group." said Jeremy over the intercom.

The scanners opened up but William and Sissy hesitated.

"What's the matter? You both chickens? Buck-buck-buck-buck!"

Odd clucked around making chicken like noises.

"Are you kidding?"

William gave him a smug look and stepped in while Sissy strolled in like a princess and look confident. The scanners closed and Jeremy waited a few moments keeping an eye out for any errors. A beeping noise told him it was finished.

"It's done. Sissy and William welcome to Team Lyoko." said Jeremy over the intercom.

They stepped out of the scanner to see Yumi, Odd, and Aelita with their arms crossed. They were leaning against the scanners feeling a little drained.

"How do you two feel?" asked Odd,

"Ready to take on Xana and his monsters." said William.

"Be careful what you say, William. Don't ever underestimate Xana. He is smart and manipulative." said Yumi,

"Okay I get it. I'm not the one who steals the show." said William, holding up his hands.

* * *

Fresh air was much more preferable than stink down in the sewers that group traveled through to get to the factory on a daily basis. William and Sissy asked how it felt to be virtualized while they tried explaining it. It was hard to explain. 

"You'll just have to find out for yourself." said Odd,

"That's fine." said William.

"You seem excited to take the big jump." said Aelita,

"I can't wait. I almost want Xana to do something to see what I look like on Lyoko." said William.

"You'll have to wait, William. I'll have Lyoko restored by tomorrow morning. Just be careful. Like Yumi said it's not a simple game and there are dangerous." said Jeremy.

"I know stop worrying. I think we'll be fine so don't worry about us." said William.

* * *

Aelita sat down in her room. She curled herself up hoping the new recruits would be enough to fight off Xana and save her father and Ulrich. If they managed to save them both than all was left was to focus on Xana.

* * *

It was the morning when Jeremy dialed everyone with a single message. 

_"I did it. I managed to recreate sector 5!"_

That was what sent everyone to the factory. Yumi ran fast, perhaps even faster than Ulrich's super sprint and was the first one into the factory. She punched the elevator so hard it looked ready to bleed. Jeremy was surprised to see Yumi walk into the lab panting hard.

"Hey, Yumi. Do you want to go to Sector 5 with Aelita and William?" asked Jeremy,

"Love to!" shouted Yumi.

She ran down to the scanners and waited patiently for Aelita and William and was already in the scanner when they came out of the elevator.

"Okay. Transfer Yumi. Transfer William. Transfer Aelita. Scanner Yumi. Scanner William. Scanner Aelita. Virtualization!"

* * *

All three of them appeared in Sector 5. Yumi smiled, Aelita smiled, while William looked around in awe and saw himself in a white and blue skin tight suit with a giant cleaver sword. 

"Awesome!"

He lifted the sword and swung it around a few times.

"Hey! Watch it!" said Aelita,

"Sorry." said William.

He got a good look at the girls.

"Wow. You girls look great." said William.

"Let's go." said Yumi.

The doors opened and they ran through the corridors of Sector 5.

"Is there still a key here?" asked Yumi,

"No, Jeremy got rid of that feature." said Aelita.

"GREAT!" said Yumi.

She ran faster than ever and went dashing through the room.

"Yumi wait!" said Jeremy through the intercom.

"She's just looking for Ulrich. I bet you would do the same for us, Jeremy." said Aelita.

Jeremy sighed and agreed. Yumi entered the chamber and heard a sound. Aelita and William entered to see several creatures crawling in.

"What are those?" asked William,

"Creepers." said Aelita.

"They sure are ugly." said William,

"But they are powerful." said Aelita.

"I can handle them." said William.

He lunged at the Creepers and swiped through the first one easy and swung his blade down on the second one. He sliced through another one when he got hit in the leg and saw another Creeper looking at him. He got up and ran at the Creeper. Yumi and Aelita were fighting off several Creepers themselves as they poured into the room.

William had destroyed his sixth monster when he heard something.

"Jeremy, there's some kind of jelly fish floating in front of me."

_"The Scyphozoa!" _


	3. Chapter 3

The Scyphozoa floated in front of William with its tentacles feeling there way through the floor. William kept his giant sword in front of him as the creature hovered in front of him. The Creepers surrounded Aelita and Yumi and fired rapidly at them.

_"William, get out of there!"_

William scoffed.

"I'm not afraid of some jelly fish."

The Scyphozoa kept its tentacles suspended in the air as it floated a little closer to the rookie warrior. William stepped back as it came forward.

_"William, you need to get out of there. I don't know what the Scyphozoa wants with you but it can't be good."_

William took another step back as the creature came closer. The Scyphozoa's tentacles rose and struck, knocking William's sword out of his hands. William grunted taking another step back.

"Is that it?" he asked unimpressed.

_"It can do more than that. Get out of there!"_

William however ignored the warning and walked calmly to pick up his sword.

_"William I am going to tell you one last time to get out of there!"_

"Relax it's not doing anything."

He wasn't even paying attention to the monster.

"Probably to scared to . . ."

He never got a chance to finish as the monster attacked with its tentacles and wrapped them around him.

"Hey! Argh!"

The monster put the last three tentacles to his head began downloading its programmed into William.

_"Yumi! Aelita! You got to hurry! Xana's trying to take control of William!"_

Yumi and Aelita heard and fought harder than ever. The quickly eliminated the last few Creepers and turned in the direction of William and the Scyphozoa. Yumi ran forward but stopped when the monster dropped William. She sent a confused as the monster fled the room.

She turned her eyes to William who was just starting to get up.

"William!"

She ran towards him and was mere inches from him when he suddenly grabbed her wrists and threw her across the room leaving a loud impact on the wall. She looked up to see William's eyes replaced by the Eye of Xana.

"I knew it was bad idea to bring you into the group."

He brought his sword down and sliced through her virtual form. She disappeared as she was ejected back into the real world. Jeremy watched as Yumi's status card turned grey and Yumi collapsed out of the scanner. Back in Sector 5 William turned to face Aelita.

"Energy Field!"

She fired a pink orb of energy at him but he blocked with his giant sword. William then ran towards with her with a purple colored version of Ulrich's Super Sprint. He grabbed Aelita's forearm and tossed her into the wall. She looked up to see him grab her and flung her over his shoulder.

William than ran through the corridors towards where the interface was. Aelita gasped she tried to fight but William dumped her on the elevator as he jumped and his foot came down on her body keeping her in place.

Jeremy turned to Odd.

"You need to get down to the scans and save Aelita now, Odd." said Jeremy.

Odd nodded and climbed down to the scans but jumped when he was half way down and landed on the floor. He ran into the scanner as Jeremy activated the virtualization sequence. William waited as the elevator stopped with his foot keeping Aelita down. As it stopped he picked her up again and walked onto the platform where interface was.

A Flying Manta was waiting for him as he walked onto it and dumped Aelita over the Eye and kept his foot on her to keep her from flying off. The Manta then took off and headed for an open tunnel opened by Xana. The Manta flew through the tunnel and out of shield around Carthage and into the open space where Lyoko once resided. The Manta started to fly down over the digital sea.

Aelita looked over in fear at the digital sea. If she fell in she would be forever digital like her father and perhaps Ulrich. She looked up into the symbol that had replaced William's eyes. The only way to break Xana's possession over William would be to devirtualize him.

But she was no position to fight at all. William looked down and smirked at her. The Manta stopped and William used his foot to push Aelita off the Manta and down into the digital sea. She screamed as she fell to certain death. However a purple blur flew through the virtual sky and caught her.

She looked up to see Odd smiling down her as she stood up on the Overboard. A roar was heard as William roared showing Xana's frustration as he failed his objective. He directed the Flying Manta to attack. The monster fired a barrage of lasers down at the Overboard and its occupants.

"Laser Arrow!"

"Energy Field!"

They both launched their long range weapons which the Flying Manta dodged. It was a battle in the air over the digital sea. If one was mistake was made than either team would be lost forever in the sea. William's sword glowed bright as he swung his sword releasing an energy wave along with few dozen lasers that were fired down on the Lyoko Warriors.

Odd aimed his Overboard towards the possessed teen firing Laser Arrows. William blocked with his sword and fired another energy wave but Aelita blocked with her Energy Field. Odd fired a Laser Arrow that hit William in the knee.

"OW!"

That slight second was all they needed. Aelita fired an Energy Field that hit William's chest and devirtualized him. Odd fired a Laser Arrow that hit the Eye on the Manta causing it to explode into hundreds of red glowing pieces.

"Well, Princess, shall I escort you back to your floating castle?" asked Odd,

"It would be an honor great knight." said Aelita, giggling.

William awoke with no memory of what happened during the time spent he was controlled by Xana. They explained what happened to him while he was possessed.

"You should have listened when I warned you about the Scyphozoa. You almost knocked Aelita into the digital sea." said Jeremy, glaring.

"Okay, okay. I get it. I won't make that mistake again." said William, holding his hands up.

"While we're talking any idea why Xana wanted William to knock Aelita into the digital sea?" asked Odd.

"This must be his new strategy." said Jeremy.

A dark cloaked figure appeared in Sector 5.

**"I guess I should not be surprised the boy failed. Aw well, no matter. Even if they recruited thousands it will not matter. Especially when they see the full consequences of Jeremy's mistake."**

The figure let out a dark laughter that if in the real world would cause every living thing to freeze like ice.


	4. Chapter 4

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Yumi awoke the next day which happened to be Saturday morning at 10 a.m., which allowed her time to sleep in. That was good. She didn't feel like her normal self today. The picture of a brown haired boy in front of her face clutched in her hand would have obviously been the source of her depression.

She pulled the picture closer to her and clutched it to her like it was the last thing keeping her living. They searched through Sector 5 but Ulrich's body was not seen nor did Jeremy locate his mind. If he was trapped forever . . . .

No!

_"Don't ever think like that! He's out there! I know it and I will find him and bring him back!"_

These are the determined of black haired girl as she held onto the picture.

* * *

A dark cloaked figure strolled through the corridors of Sector 5 casually. It passed through the wall and entered the giant room that held the core of Lyoko.

**"After all the trouble of destroying it here we are. Back at the beginning except this time it will be a lot more harder. I will make sure of that."**

Sissy strolled through the hall when Herb walked out of his room.

"Hey, Sissy I heard Jeremy and the others let you into the group? But what about me and Nicholas?" asked Herb,

"I'm sorry Herb but the group is disbanded." said Sissy.

"But what about all the times we worked for you." said Herb,

"That time is over, Herb." said Sissy.

Little did Herb know Sissy was doing it for his own protection. She needed to help the Lyoko Warriors save Ulrich and stop Xana. Jeremy said he was working on a program to track Xana on the digital net. Little did Sissy know was that she was not going to Lyoko today.

A socket short circuited as a black cloud came out in the washroom and entered the sinks. Jeremy was working when the Super Scan detected an activated tower.

"Oh great." said Jeremy.

He dialed everyone a text message.

S.O.S

XANA

Yumi jumped out of her bed and put on her clothes quickly as she ran out of her house and towards the factory. Odd, Aelita, and William dropped whatever they were doing and when towards the factory. That was when Xana chose to strike. Water erupted from sinks, the showers, even the sewers.

Water blasted out of the sewers like geysers as water started to travel towards the factory. Sissy noticed the halls starting to get flawed.

"Oh no!"

She ran and shouted everyone to get out of the dorms. Everyone looked out to see the halls getting flooded and ran screaming. Sissy opened the door and shouted at everyone to get out. They started running as water started falling down the stars.

As the last person ran out Sissy slammed the door. However she looked out to see water rising from the ground and started to submerge the entire city. For the first time Sissy realized how serious the Lyoko Gang were about Xana. She looked at the Science Building.

"Everyone get into the science building and get to the roof!"

Her voice was heard as the panic filled children ran into the building and started climbing the stars. Kadic was not the only target of Xana's attack. Yumi, Odd, and William ran noticing the factory lobby was being submerged in water. They jumped onto the cables and swung down to the elevator and headed down to the lab. Jeremy and Aelita were already there.

The lab was okay for now. There was occasional sounds of dripping water in several places.

"Sissy called. Xana's trying to flood the city. The activated tower is in the Ice Sector." said Jeremy.

"We need to hurry." said Aelita.

They all nodded and climbed down to the scanners. The scanners opened and Aelita, Yumi, and William stepped in and Jeremy started the virtualization sequence.

"Transfer Yumi."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Transfer William."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Scanner Aelita."

"Scanner William."

"Virtualization."

* * *

They were all taken by a flash of great light and vanished back into Lyoko. In the Ice Sector of Lyoko the three virtual forms of Yumi, Aelita, and William landed on the ice. Well actually Aelita and Yumi landed on their feet while William was rubbing his behind.

"Looks like you still need to get used to that." said Yumi,

"Oh come on. I almost landed right." said William.

The vehicles appeared right in front of them.

"Cool!" said William.

Yumi hopped onto the Overwing with Aelita while Odd who was just virtualized hopped onto Overboard. William was left with the Overcycle much to his excitement as he hopped on the vehicle and sped in the direction of the activated tower whose location Jeremy had just told them. They looked at the tower to see six Tarantulas, four Crabs, and one Megatank.

"All right!"

William once again sped towards them on the Overcycle with his sword out. The monsters soon enough spotted their enemy and aimed their lasers at him fired. He jumped off the Overcycle and it rammed into a Tarantula sending it flying into the icy wall and explode. William than ran towards a Crab as it fired and he sliced off the front of its legs and plunged his giant sword into the Eye.

However these monsters were among Xana's strongest and smartest monsters so they were able to fight back quickly. William found himself running fast to avoid their lases when he slipped and fell onto an icy platform below the tower.

"Well that was embarrassing but I'll show them."

**"Rookie."**

William tried to turn and see who spoke but a sword sliced through him causing him to devirtualize. Odd flew in on his Overboard and fired several arrow that hit and destroyed a Crab. Yumi blocked lasers from the Tarantulas while Aelita used her Energy Field to block the energy attack from the Megatank. The Tarantulas soon enough shot down the Overwing causing Yumi and Aelita to fall but not before a fan sliced through a Crab and one Tarantula.

Odd kept firing but a Tarantula soon enough shot the Overboard causing him to fall and he was hit by a few more lasers causing his life points to drop to zero. He was ejected back into the real world as the monsters turned their attention to the last warriors. Aelita quickly sang a note and ground beneath the Tarantulas vanished causing them to fall. Only two Crabs and the Megatanks remained.

Yumi jumped and threw her fans as the Megatank fired. The fans were successful but the Megatank hit her as well leaving only Aelita left. She quickly ran and fired her energy field destroying the last two crabs as she entered the tower. She entered the tower as it softly welcomed her with small beeping noise as the platform started glowing.

She started to fly up to the platform. The water had nearly covered the city and started to flood the lab. Jeremy looked to see the water already up his waist. Aelita landed on the second platform as the interface appeared.

Sissy looked to see the flood continue to rise. Aelita placed her hand on the screen.

AELITA

CODE:

L

Y

O

K

O

All data fell down as the red aura around the tower vanished.

"Tower Deactivated."

Jeremy pressed a key.

"Return to the Past now!"

* * *

Jeremy sat at his computer when he heared a knock on his door.

"Come in." said Jeremy,

"Hey."

Jeremy looked to see William enter the room.

"Hey, William. What's the problem?"

"Back on Lyoko I fell below the tower. When I got back up I heard someone and then I got devirtualized. You ever seen a monster that can talk?"

"No. Plus I didn't spot a monster behind you. I thought the monsters all fired at you and you were devirtualized when you hit the ground."

"I'm telling you, Jeremy, I heard someone. Someone's out there on Lyoko." said William.

* * *

At the tower that was just deactivated appeared a dark cloaked figure with Eye of Xana on its back.

**"The fun is only just beginning little heroes."**


	5. Chapter 5

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

In Sector 5 a dark cloaked figure stood at the interface going through its data. He analyzed the data and found it satisfactory. Now all that was left was time for the data to construct itself. In the meantime he would work on designs for his new servants. 

For sometime he was trying to create a monster that was stronger than even the Scyphozoa. He had also come with a new design. His monsters would be much stronger now but for now he would have to rely on his older servants. That was fine with him.

If this plan was successful than Aelita would be captured and the warriors would be dealt with. However he must not let himself be overcome by excitement or arrogance. All that he would have to do is play his cards right and victory would be his. He took a good look at himself and knew the warriors would not trust him like this.

In a great flash of light the figure was gone.

* * *

Jeremy was working at his desk when a familiar program came up with a familiar beeping sound. Sure enough there was an activated tower. However just as he about to dial the others the tower deactivated. Jeremy had a look of confusion but soon enough another was tower activated. 

That pattern kept repeating itself. Jeremy finally dialed the others and they were on their way to the factory.

* * *

Jeremy was already sitting at the computer when the others came out of the elevator. 

"That was fast." said Jeremy,

"We got here as soon as we could. So what's Xana up to this time?" asked Aelita.

"For now I have no idea. For the last few minutes he's been jumping towers." said Jeremy,

What do you mean?" asked Odd.

"A tower was activated for a few minutes and then deactivated. So far it looks like Xana has been doing this for the last hour. For what purpose I have no idea." said Jeremy.

He pointed to the holo-map.

"There are forty towers in Lyoko with ten towers in each sector connected to Sector 5. Xana's first tower was on the edge of one of these sectors and moved in a circle with the four towers closest to the edge. So far he's moving on like in a row." said Jeremy.

They noticed a tower acrtivated in the Forest Sector.

"Looks like Xana realized we're watching him. He's kept that tower activae longer than he should have. Everyone get to the scanners." said Jeremy.

Everyone nodded and headed down to the scanner room.

"Transfer Yumi."

"Transfer Sissy."

"Transfer Odd."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Scanner Sissy."

"Scanner Odd."

"Virtualization."

They were all taken by a great white light and vanished into Lyoko.

* * *

Odd and Yumi got a good look at Sissy's Lyoko form. It was basically like her cheerleader outfit with her hair in a pony tail. Her outfit was white and white boots that went up to her thighs. Strapped to her thigh was a small holster that had a small dagger when she pulled out turned into a rod that was almost four feet long. 

William arrived on Lyoko and looked at Sissy with a smile.

"Good form, Sissy." said William,

"Thank you."

_"Not that you have all arrived you better hurry and get to the tower." _

"Okay, okay. But will we be fighting monsters?" asked Sissy,

"Most likely but I wouldn't mind a monster free mission." said Yumi.

_"Neither would I. The tower is close."_

Everyone took off and headed towards the tower. That was when Xana decided to interfere. Five Kankrelats appeared behind them when they were at the tower which was guarded by three Bloks.

"What should I do?" asked Sissy,

"Use your baton to block the lasers." said Aelita.

She held up her weapon as the first Kankrelat charged and fired. She successfully blocked the first shot but was hit in the chest by a second shot.

_"Ten life points lost."_

Yumi yelled and threw one of her fans while holding the other to block lasers. One sliced through a Kankrelat which devirtualized it and flew back into her hand. Odd and Aelita were firing at the monsters while William charged and tried to slice through the Bloks. He held his sword in fornt of him to block incoming lasers.

Odd and Aelita destroyed the Bloks from the distance and headed for the tower. However three more Bloks appeared from behind the tower and fired. They were both sent back and lost thirty life points. William jumped on one and plunged his sword into the Eye.

It exploded as he jumped off.

"All right!" he shouted in celebration.

Suddenly he was hit in the knee by a Kankrelat.

"You little roach!"

He swung his blade down and squashed the little monster. Sissy ran and plunged her staff into the Eye of a Blok which meant one more monster. Or so they thought. Two more Bloks came behind them and fired which hit Odd and devirtualized him.

Xana's monsters had them surrounded. That was when suddenly the tower changed from red to white.

"What happened?" asked Aelita.

_"Xana left the tower."_

"Sorry, Jeremy." said Sissy.

_"It's okay. We can still keep an eye on him."_

* * *

Yumi stepped out of the scanner and waited as Aelita, Sissy, and William stepped out. When they were about to leave they looked to see another scanner activated. 

"Hey, someone's coming out." said Odd,

"But who . ." started Jeremy.

A familiar boy tumbled out of the scanner and fell to the floor. Yumi ran towards him first when she saw him and gently placed his head on her lap.

"Ulrich?" asked Yumi.

This day was full of surprises.


	6. Chapter 6

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Ulrich slowly opened his eyes to see a ceiling above him. He then looked around to see he was in the scanner room. He then noticed he was sitting on something soft. He blinked to see himself on Yumi's lap.

"Ulrich!" cried everyone except William.

He tried to stand up but nearly fell again until Yumi helped him out by putting his arm over her shoulder. They soon arrived in the lab.

"So, Ulrich what happened? Last time Xana possessed your body and used it to destroy Lyoko's Core." said Jeremy,

"It was Franz Hopper. He managed to save me and merge my body back with my mind after Xana destroyed the Core. After Jeremy restored Lyoko Franz sent me back here. He did give me some important information." said Ulrich.

"Like what?" asked Aelita,

"Like the fact that Franz can't come back to Lyoko because his camouflage against Xana was compromised after Lyoko was destroyed. He can't afford to let his guard down right now. As for what Xana's doing he's planning on creating a whole new Lyoko on the digital net itself." said Ulrich.

"He can do that?" asked Odd, surprised.

"He can now thanks to the data he stole from Aelita. This New Lyoko will be created from hundreds of supercomputers that will allow Xana to attack with even greater strength than he did back on the original Lyoko. Not only that but he also plans on using them to create monsters that are even stronger than the ones he's already got." said Ulrich,

"Than we need to get to work. If Xana is doing what you have told us Ulrich than we might need to upgrade our own weapons." said Jeremy.

"And how do we do that?" asked Sissy,

"Franz provided me with a program to upgrade your virtual characters on Lyoko. It will take some time but it will allow us to fight Xana with even more power than ever before." said Jeremy.

"As for the towers that were activated earlier today they were being used to download information for a new base design. Right now there is no New Lyoko so Xana is stuck using the old one but it will be ready once the data has had time to construct itself." said Ulrich,

"Which will probably go faster if we use the Return program. Like it always doubled Xana's powers when he was still in the supercomputer." said Jeremy.

"So what happens when Xana finally creates this New Lyoko?" asked William,

"Like Ulrich said it will be created and connected to hundreds of supercomputers that will no doubt be under Xana's control." said Jeremy.

"Franz did tell me a way to stop Xana but it won't be easy. It's the last thing he said to me before he sent back onto Lyoko." said Ulrich,

"And what is it, Ulrich?" asked Yumi.

"Franz left a special program inside Sector 5. A sort of virus that needs four towers to be activated with one in each sector. Franz said that even though Xana escaped Lyoko he is still needs to be connected to it in order to use the towers so he can attack the real world. If we can get that program than all Jeremy needs to do is activate four towers that should be able destroy Xana's only connection to the real world leaving him completely powerless." said Ulrich,

"Than what are we waiting for? We can go to Sector 5 and retrieve that program." said Odd.

"It's not that simple, Odd. Even if we do know a way to destroy Xana there are endless files in Sector 5. I doubt Xana is going to give us a chance to find that program once he finds out Ulrich is back." said Jeremy,

"That and we still need to wait for our virtual characters to recharge at least for the night." said Aelita.

"In the meantime why not celebrate the night? We can finally get rid of Xana once and for all. Not to mention Jeremy could find a way to materialize Aelita's father after Xana is taken care of." said Yumi,

"Why not?" asked Odd.

"Let's all go. You too, Jeremy." said Aelita, looking at the genius.

"But what if . . ."

"If Xana attacks we'll be ready. Just bring the laptop with you." said Aelita.

Ulrich smirked as Jeremy complied.

"But first we need to do a Return to the Past back to the day Xana destroyed Lyoko. It will avoid Ulrich having to answer police questions about why he was gone for so long." said Jeremy.

Everybody nodded as Jeremy typed in the coordinates.

"Return to the Past now!"

The great ball of light engulfed everyone as they returned to that day. Everyone was quiet as everyone contemplated the thought of defeating Xana finally. Little did they know was that during that time was that Xana was planning something big. It was early in the morning as Ulrich snuck into the computer lab and typed away at the computer.

He smirked evilly and snuck out of the factory. They all gathered in the cafe to discuss their plan.

"After class is over we'll head straight to the factory. If we're in luck Xana won't be expecting us and we can get that program in only a few moments." said Jeremy,

"And then we can upload the program through the activated towers that should destroy Xana through his connection to Lyoko." said Aelita.

"Aw well. We can still have some fun while we're at it." said Odd,

"I hope Xana will have some monsters ready before we kick his virtual butt for good." said William.

"You got that right." said Yumi.

Ulrich nodded in agreement. Classes were soon over and they ran to the factory. That was when Xana chose to strike. His specter easily came out of and possessed various humans. They were just at the factory when they noticed they were being followed.

They looked to see nearly all of the students and teachers from Kadic looking at them with a familiar symbol in their eyes.

"Looks like Xana still has one attack left." said Ulrich.

All of the possessed victims growled and raised their hands firing electricity from their hands. The Lyoko Warriors scattered as the electricity blasted where they already stood. Odd and Yumi ended up behind some trees when the possessed students turned their eyes towards them and lunged. Odd and Yumi took off running as they were attacked from all sides.

Ulrich, Sissy, Jeremy, and William managed to sneak by without getting spotted and jumped into the sewers.

They climbed up the ladder and entered the factory.

"We need to hurry or Odd and Yumi are finished. Your first stop is Sector 5. It looks like Xana managed to corrupt my Super Scan again." said Jeremy,

"Than fire up the scanners and send us in." said William.

"I wonder what you look like on Lyoko, Ulrich." said Sissy,

"You'll get to see soon enough, Sissy." said Ulrich, smirking.

The elevator opened and Jeremy stepped into the lab while the others headed down to the scanner room. The door opened up and Sissy, William, and Aelita stepped in first. Ulrich smirked again and then climbed up the ladder to the lab.

_"Transfer Sissy."_

_"Transfer William."_

_"Transfer Aelita."_

_"Scanner Sissy."_

_"Scanner William."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Virtualization."_

They vanished into a great light as they were sent into Lyoko once again. Jeremy than waited for Ulrich to step in.

"Okay, Ulrich you can . . ."

"Finally get rid of you and knock little Aelita into the digital sea?" asked Ulrich's voice behind him.

He looked to see Ulrich grab him and toss him out of the chair. With such strength Jeremy was hurled across the room and hit the wall with a loud impact. He looked up to see a familiar symbol now in Ulrich's eyes.

"No . . ." said Jeremy.

He did not get a chance as Ulrich shocked him with electricity.

"That was too easy. **Now to tie up the last loose end and say goodbye little warriors.**"

Ulrich's voice completely changed.

-

-

William sliced through a Creeper that attacked them. As he along with Sissy and Aelita ran through Sector 5 to get to the interface they were face a bunch of Creepers. Sissy swing her baton that took down many of them while Aelita blasted the ones further away. They finally made it to the elevator that took them to the platform.

However they were not done yet. Three squads of Flying Mantas hatched and flew straight at them. Sissy and William could only deflect the attacks with their weapons as Aelita searched through the data.

"I got it. I'm uploading it to you now, Jeremy. Jeremy?" asked Aelita,

"He can't hear you." said a voice.

They looked to see Ulrich in his Lyoko form running up to them. William gave him a thumbs up.

"Nice look, Ulrich." said William,

"What do you mean Jeremy can't hear?" asked Aelita.

"One of those possessed guys busted into the lab as he virtualized me and knocked him out." said Ulrich,

"That means we can't find the tower." said Aelita.

"Don't worry. He already told me where it is. It's in the Desert Sector. All we need to do is get out of here." said Ulrich.

"How do we do that?" asked Sissy,

"Like this." said Aelita.

They pointed to the vehicles appearing in front of them. Ulrich jumped onto the Overcycle while William took the Overboard leaving the Overwing to Aelita and Sissy. They took off as a data tunnel opened and flew towards it while the Flying Mantas fired at them. However they seem to be targeting William as they aimed all their lasers at him.

Ulrich along with Sissy and Aelita made it through before the data tunnel closed.

"Oh no!" said William.

He flew the Overboard through the virtual space as he avoided the lasers. He did not seem to realize that Xana had him trapped. Ulrich led them out of the shield around Carthage and into the Desert Sector.

"Where's William?" asked Sissy,

"He must have been devirtualized." said Ulrich.

"We have no choice but to continue." said Aelita.

They all nodded and flew after Ulrich who started leading them to the activated tower. Meanwhile Odd and Yumi had finally lost their possessed pursuers and began running back to the school. They decided to head through the boiler room and managed to make it without drawing attention. They ran through the sewers and climbed up to the bridge in front of factory.

They took the elevator down to the lab and noticed Jeremy was on the ground knocked out.

"Jeremy!" shouted Yumi and Odd.

They ran over to him and tried to shake him awake but he did not respond. However they gasped in horror when they noticed the computer was smashed.

"This is not good! How do we get into Lyoko?" asked Yumi,

"The lap top." whispered a voice.

They looked to see Jeremy trying to wake up.

"Hook my laptop up to the computer." said Jeremy.

He tried to explain what happened to him but the fact was he was too injured and could not speak anymore before falling into darkness. Yumi took the laptop and took several wires and started connecting it. Soon enough it seemed the laptop was connected to the computer.

"I started the automatic virtualization sequence. Let's go, Odd." said Yumi.

Ulrich led them towards the tower when a familiar buzzing was heard. They looked back to see five Hornets closing in on them.

"I'm guessing those are Hornets." said Sissy,

"Yep." said Aelita.

The Hornets flew at them in pursuit firing lasers at them. Aelita fired an Energy Field at them but they dodged and released another barrage of lasers at them.

"I got an idea." said Sissy.

She twirled her baton in her hand as she jumped off the Overwing and swung her baton that struck three Hornets. Aelita piloted the Overwing down and grabbed Sissy as she fell towards the ground. Aelita fired another Energy Field that hit and destroyed another Hornet. The last Hornet flew off in retreat and soon enough the tower was seen but there were three Crabs guarding it.

They looked up and fired. Sissy yelled as she jumped down and plunged her baton into the Eye that was on top of the Crab's shell. It shattered underneath her and Aelita and Ulrich easily destroyed the last two Crabs. Aelita ran into the tower and soon enough deactivated it. She stepped out of the tower to see Ulrich and Sissy waiting for him.

"So now what?" asked Sissy,

"Ulrich! Sissy! Aelita!" shouted a voice.

They all looked to see Odd and Yumi running towards them. William appeared a few seconds later as well.

"William, where were you?" asked Aelita,

"The tunnel closed off and I was stuck there with those Mantas. Than the tunnel suddenly opened up." said William.

"Xana must have closed off the tunnel himself and after tower was shut down you were able to get out." said Aelita,

"We came here to help but it seems we would have been better off looking after Jeremy. Someone knocked him out and smashed the controls." said Yumi.

"Is Jeremy all right?" asked Aelita,

"He'll be fine." said Odd.

"But you won't." said Ulrich, suddenly.

He suddenly slashed all of them knocking them all down and sent them skidding across the ground towards the digital sea. They looked up in shock to see Ulrich smirking down at them like they had been on the wrong end of a twisted joke. Which they are right now.

"Ulrich! What are you doing?" asked Odd,

"Are you crazy!?" shouted William.

"You still don't understand do you. You actually think that the real Ulrich's mind would suddenly return to this vessel after so suddenly being sent back into the virtual plain that separated it in the beginning?" asked Ulrich.

"Who are you?! You're not Ulrich!" shouted Odd,

"Look past the mere virtual flesh and see what lies underneath." said Ulrich.

He put a hand to his right eye for a second and removed to reveal much to the shock and horror of everyone the Eye of Xana.

"No . . . It can't be . . ." Yumi stuttered.

She fell on her knees and trembled. William charged at Ulrich but with one hand holding his katana he stopped William's giant cleaver sword and gave a mighty thrust that sent him flying back. Ulrich plunged his katana into the desert ground and looked on with amusement.

"There was much more that transpired on that day than just eliminating the Core of Lyoko. Allow me to show you all what truly happened to this vessel after the Core's destruction." said Ulrich.

He spread his arms out as his body glowed bright red and his glowed completely white. He was covered in a great flash of light that blinded everyone's eyes. They looked to see Ulrich standing there but not as he was before. He wore a black body suit with dark red stripes down the arms and legs with the Eye of Xana ending at the hands.

Around his forehead was a completely black headband with th Eye of Xana on it as well. There were some bulky lines across his body which suggested he wore body armor underneath. His hands had metal gauntlets with short curved claws on each finger. Last but not least his eyes had changed as well.

They were now completely replaced with pure black orbs with the Eye of Xana as their pupils. On his chest was the Eye as well as he looked up and smiled at the horrified Lyoko Warriors. He picked up the katana and held it out in front of him. With a simple thought crimson electricity poured out of his body and into the katana which transformed it.

It was as long as William's cleaver sword but dark red and the handle was completely black.

**"Much better don't you think, everyone? This is what truly happened to this vessel after the core was destroyed. It now serves a new purpose and as for the real Ulrich just in case you are wondering. He won't be back to pick it up."**

"Why not!?" shouted Yumi.

Ulrich or should I call him Xana now smirked in her direction.

**"While I was destroying the Core I reached out and activated the scanner that held Ulrich's mind in a non-corporeal form before activating the deletion process."**

"You what?!" shouted William,

"Ulrich!" shouted Yumi.

"No . . . NO!" shouted Odd,

"It can't be . . . It can't be . . ." muttered Sissy.

Aelita fell to her knees and hands she understood what it mean. Ulrich was truly gone for good. That was the horrible truth that made itself known to everyone and his body was now in the ends of their greatest enemy to use in his sick plans.

**"Aw don't worry. I made his end quick and painless. At least I think I did. I wouldn't know after all to die as something like that was really not worth thinking. It's like after it all of it ended I just lost interest."**

Xana scratched his head pretending to remember. Yumi looked down and did the one thing that was impossible on Lyoko. She cried. William looked down to see Yumi.

Never before had he seen her like this. Yumi was always strong and mature but now . . .

He narrowed his eyes in hate and the digital monster that had taken over his rival's body. That monster! How dare he kill Ulrich and then to add salt to the wound keep his body like a puppet! With that one thought William gripped his sword and yelled.

He charged straight at Xana. Odd who was feeling nothing but pain over the loss of his best friend followed William to unleash all of his sorrow upon Xana. Today marked the beginning of one of the greatest battles on Lyoko.


	7. Chapter 7

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

Merry Christmas to all of my readers and favorite authors and anyone else on this site.

* * *

William charged first at Xana who stood and waited. William slashed horizontally but Xana effectively blocked with just his sword in one hand. He swung vertically which Xana blocked as well. William continued to slash at Xana but he effectively dodged and kicked the rookie down. 

Odd ran at him and tried to punch him but Xana sidestepped him and used a backward kick that knocked Odd down. Odd got up again and charged at Xana with a punch but Xana side dodged and grabbed Odd throwing him over his shoulder. Xana than looked to see William charge at him again which Xana countered by back flipping and launching his foot out knocking the sword out of William's hand. As he landed Xana used Super Sprint and punched William hard sending him flying back.

Xana then walked towards Aelita but Sissy stood in front of her and charged. Xana rolled his eyes and sighed. As Sissy neared he effortlessly knocked her with one hand across the Desert Sector and into Odd.

**"This has been fun but right now I have important business. "**

Xana stopped in front of Aelita.

**"So little princess are you ready for your escort into the sea?"**

Aelita looked up into those eyes. The pure black orbs with the red Eye that replaced the soft brown eyes of her friends. She suddenly was overwhelmed by a sudden eruption of hatred within her. She stood up and fired an Energy Field which Xana simply side dodged.

Xana held out a hand and a dark cloud flew out and hit her. She was suddenly floating in the air suspended in the air by the black cloud. Xana than directed her to the abyss that led down to the digital sea. Yumi looked up to see what was happening.

She stood up and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She yelled and threw her fan. Xana looked back to see a fan flying at him and simply caught it with his other hand. Yumi took then jumped at him and he stepped back as she attempted to kick him.

Aelita was dropped to the ground thanks to Xana being distracted.

"You will bring back Ulrich or else . . ." shouted Yumi.

**"Or else what little geisha? Not only have I upgraded Ulrich's virtual character but I have an entire army at my finger tips. You think you can all stand up to that?"**

"Of course we don't think! We know!" shouted William.

**"Oh this will be good."**

Odd and Aelita fired at him but Xana used Super Sprint and jumped over the attacks and landed behind them. He swung his blade that cut through Odd forcing him back away with the loss of nearly all of his life points and kicked Aelita's feet knocking her down. Xana then pointed his hand at her and the sand around her came to life and lashed out at her. She found her legs and her arms bound keeping her pinned on the ground.

**"You still have an appointment with the Digital Sea. You just sit and enjoy the last few minutes you have left while I have some fun."**

Xana smirked and turned back to the Lyoko Warriors leaving Aelita to watch. Sissy charged with her baton and swung at her enemy. However when it collided with her enemy she was shocked to see it pass through Xana like a ghost. She was even more shocked when she felt a sword slice through her torso devirtualzing her.

Xana appeared right behind her looking casual and like he hadn't moved at all. As Sissy vanished he looked up at the sky.

**"Actually it is ****a ****lovely view when you stop to take a look."**

William roared as he charged and jumped above his enemy while bringing his sword down. Xana just raised his sword above his head and the attack was stopped just mere inches above his head.

**"Impressive. Despite being a recently recruited fighter you seem to have a lot of potential. Perhaps as much potential as Ulrich did. However unlike Ulrich you lack refinement. **

**All the others fight using strategy while you rely only on strength. That is why you're the weakest link and why you will ****not ****defeat me."**

Xana disappeared from William's view and reappeared behind giving him a high kick in the back of the head. He stepped back as Odd fired his arrows and Yumi threw her fans. William got up and pointed his sword at Xana again.

**"Hm, I wonder how many life points you all have left. Jeremy is not here to play referee however I can tell that they are low."**

Odd aimed his arrows, William pointed his sword, and Yumi gripped her fans. Xana smirked and crossed his arms.

**"Any of you like spaghetti?"**

Before anyone could answer Xana uncrossed his arms and crimson electricity blasted from his finger tips like strings and attached themselves to the Lyoko Warriors. They found themselves in the air getting rammed into each other.

**"Dance, my puppets, dance!"**

Xana laughed and dumped the warriors back onto the Desert. Xana chuckled and looked towards Aelita who was watching in horror. Suddenly Odd dashed over to her and picked her up. She could not move because of the sand still keeping her arms and legs bound.

"You're not getting her, Xana." said Odd.

Xana smirked and continued walking forward. Odd pulled Aelita closer to him as Xana walked even closer. He tried stepping back but Xana was still close.

**"Try running away all you want, Odd. Believe it or not I am trying to understand your feelings. You can hold onto Aelita. I'll just toss you both into the Digital Sea or you can leave your hands behind."**

Xana brought his sword out and prepared to strike. Odd jumped into the air yelling. With one arm holding Aelita he fired pointed the other one and fired an endless barrage of Laser Arrows down on Xana. When they neared blocked them with his sword.

Odd landed to look how far away he got Aelita from when he gasped in horror to see Xana right in front of him. He looked behind his foe to see another Xana still standing where Odd attacked him. His unasked question was answered when that Xana faded into a black cloud and vanished. Xana used Ulrich's Triplication to fool him!

Suddenly Xana swung his sword and Odd screamed as he dropped Aelita and ejected back into the real world.

"Odd!" shouted Aelita.

She lifted back into the air by a familiar black substance as Xana guided her to the edge. However William charged again and swung his blade but his eyes widened when Xana caught the blade with one finger! Xana smirked at the surprised William. Suddenly a fan flew through the air towards Xana's head.

He smirked to see Yumi throw another fan but was surprised when it did not hit him but Aelita! He looked to see her devirtualize and glared at the geisha. His one finger that was blocking William's blade tightened and William looked down to see claw like cuts on his body as he was devirtualized. Xana then turned and looked at Yumi.

She was panting with a dangerous look on her face.

**"Aw, feeling a little cranky, Yumi? Upset you never got a chance to tell your Ulrich dear how you feel? That's right I know. Especially that little moment you two nearly shared in this very sector almost a year ago.**

**I know you love him or should I say loved him."**

Yumi ignored everything around her as she stared at the digital fiend that took over her love's body.

"What do you mean?"

**"Didn't hear what I said? I activated the deletion process the very moment his mind returned to this plain of existence. He's not coming back EVER."**

"You're wrong! You may say he's gone all you want but I know he's still alive!"

**"And I thought Odd was the idiot. Guess that title belongs to you. Now I have some evil to commit else where. If all of you know what's good for you than you'll stay out of my way."**

"And when I refuse?" demanded Yumi.

**"Then I will kill you. Trust me on this one, Yumi, the Super Sprint and Triplication are just the tip of the iceberg of what I can do with this body now."**

Yumi's eyes widened as she understood. Xana didn't even take them seriously.

**"Oh, by the way just to let you know, Ulrich was hurt when you said you should have stayed friends. He didn't give up which is why he wanted to include ****you ****in his life."**

Xana laughed as he jumped into the Digital Sea leaving Yumi to cry once again. Alone in Lyoko. That was when the Return to the Past program was activated.

* * *

Somewhere on a parallel plane of existence a chocolate haired boy floated through a white void while in a deep sleep. That was until something disturbed his rest. 

"Yumi . . ."

That was the only word the boy muttered in his sleep.

* * *

Merry Christmas! 


	8. Chapter 8

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

Merry Christmas to all of my readers and favorite authors and anyone else on this site.

* * *

It has been a few days now. Since the day they discovered what Xana had done with Ulrich. Ever since then Jeremy had worked hard recreating the rest of Lyoko while the gang had once again been suffering through the loss of their friend. Odd had been trying to lighten the mood with some of his 'hilarious' jokes, Aelita spent her time helping Jeremy, Yumi had been depressed dealing with the loss of Ulrich, while Sissy and William tried to help Odd lighten the mood. 

"So then the guys gets up and starts to scream 'Oh no! My canoe sprang a leak!'." said Odd, laughing.

However no one laughed.

"Come on, it's hysterical. The guy thinks his canoe sprung a leak. Oh, forget it. You guys have no sense of humor." said Odd,

"We do. That's the problem." said William.

"Don't worry Odd, a sense of humor's part of growing up." said Yumi,

"Come on, I'm the funniest guy in school. In fact if I wasn't me I'd be president of my own fan club." said Odd.

Aelita laughed.

"Now that's what I call funny."

"Yeah, but the problem is I didn't mean it to be funny." said Odd, looking sheepish.

"You mind making a little less noise? Some of us are trying to work. I've already spent a lot of sleepless nights trying to recreate the rest of Lyoko and improving the digital equipment for all of you. And now I've got to figure out to do about Ulrich.

If you haven't forgotten that while doing your bad stand up act." said Jeremy.

"It wasn't us, it was him." said Sissy, pointing at Odd.

"That Ulrich's body is stuck on Lyoko under the control of Xana. And if we don't do anything people are going to start noticing his absence. So keep it down." said Jeremy.

At the mention of Ulrich's name Yumi visibly flinched and a sad look made it across her face for a second. Aelita noticed it and softly whacked Jeremy on the head for being such a loud mouth. Jeremy looked to see Aelita glaring at him and motioned at Yumi and Jeremy knew that his frustration got the better of him. Odd looked down with a sad look as well while William and Sissy kept silent.

* * *

Perhaps you wonder what Principal Delmas does when no one's looking or when he's finished his work for the day. Well it is the last thing anyone expected. It was a game that was about penguin's head trying get back on its body. Mr. Delmas scratched his beard as he concentrated hard on this challenging game.

RING!

He was instantly pulled away from his game by the sound of his phone. He clicked to pause and picked up the phone.

"Delmas Academy, Jean Pierre Kadic here . . . Uh, Kadic Academy, Jean Pierre Delmas speaking." said the principal.

Apparently the phone wasn't enough to pull him away from the game completely.

"This is Mr. Stern, Ulrich's fatter. I am calling to say that my son won't be attending school this week. He's got a very high fever and he has to stay in bed." said the voice of Ulrich's father.

Mr. Delmas was partially listening while playing his penguin game when the words 'Game Over' appeared on the screen.

"Oh rats! I hope it's not game over for him that is to say nothing serious." said Mr. Delmas,

"Just a very bad flu." said Jeremy over the voice box.

Mr. Delmas raised his eye brow as the head missed the body and the words 'Game Over ' appeared again.

"That's a relief. Please tell your son we all wish him a speedy recovery, Mr. Stern. Good bye and thanks for calling." said Mr. Delmas.

With that phone call done he hung up and turned back to his game to find the words 'Game Over' on it again. The Principal grunted at that sixth time he lost. The most recent losses were in the last three minutes.

* * *

Jeremy sighed in relief. 

"I honestly don't know what we do without my voice synthesizer." said Jeremy,

"Well now that we handled Delmas, maybe we to more important stuff." said Odd.

"Yeah, like what?" asked Jeremy.

"Meatballs and spaghetti." said Odd, smiling big.

"Odd, I know that you're a walking stomach, but I haven't got time to go to lunch. I've got to get to the factory to test out the codes for your new equipment." said Jeremy.

"Can you program me some bell bottom pants with orange stripes on the side?" asked Odd,

"Move will you? I need a little thinking time!" said Jeremy.

"What you need is to hear a good joke. You don't laugh enough, lighten up." said Odd,

* * *

The Principal called in his secretary to test the game for him after three more losses in row just minutes after the phone call. It was obvious that Mr. Delmas was a poor game player.

"It doesn't look that hard, sir." said the secretory.

Just a few clicks and the penguin's head landed on the body. The words 'Master Game' appeared on the screen showing them that the secretory had surpassed the principal in game play. Mr. Delmas grunted as she smiled victoriously.

"By the way, Nicole, don't you have some work to finish up?" asked Mr. Delmas.

The phone rang again.

"Now what?" asked Mr. Delmas answering the phone.

"This is Mr. Stern calling for my son. I have not heard from him for several days and my wife is getting worried." said the man,

"Well isn't that a shame. I assure you I'll do everything I possible can to find you son. I'll call the army, the FBI, even the president, so don't worry." said Mr. Delmas.

"There is no need to go that far for now." said Mr. Stern,

"Now listen Mr. whoever alias Stern you should do better to think about your own fate and not that of your so called son once I discover who it is that's calling. So there!" said Mr. Delmas slamming the phone.

He turned back to Nicole who had her arms crossed.

"Hear that, Nicole? That is the way to talk to practical jokers who are actually playing tricks on you." said Mr. Delmas, while keeping his posture all knowing.

Nicole placed a hand to her chin.

"There's one thing I don't get. How do you know that he was the practical joker and not the person you spoke to on the phone before? Hm?"

Jean Pierre opened his eyes and tried not to look dumbfounded.

* * *

At the cafe Odd slid a tray across the table which surprised everyone who sat at it. 

"You don't want your banana?" asked Aelita, shocked.

"It's for Einstein. The walking stomach has to look out for our genius." said Odd,

"Hey, Sissy, your dad and Jim at 11:00." said William.

They noticed the principal and Jim walking up to their table.

"Hello, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita. I was wondering if you had any news of Ulrich Stern by any chance? Jim said you were all close friends."

Jim walked up behind him with a big smile while walking like a soldier.

"Somebody told me he was sick in bed with a very high fever." said Yumi.

Just before Mr. Delmas could speak again Jim held up his hand.

"Let me handle this, Jean Pierre. Listen, Yumi, be honest with us."

Mr. Delmas rolled his eyes.

"I know perfectly well Ulrich isn't anymore sick than I am. Achoo!"

"Bless you, Jim." said Aelita, smiling.

"Thank you. If you want to know what I think I think Ulrich is somewhere and something tells me that somehow you know exactly where that somewhere is and that sometimes it's better to be honest with someone so uno; someone should tell Ulrich that we know he's around and doso; that he ought to get back here before tonight if not Mr. Delmas our beloved principal will call some police. That ought to do it." said Jim.

He smiled while everyone stared at him wondering what he said.

* * *

"No way! That mean's I am going to have to slog away all afternoon trying to finish a program that will free Ulrich's body from Xana's control. And then what, dump it out of the scanner like a brain dead meat puppet? And who knows if it will even work." said Jeremy, sitting in the factory talking over the intercom. 

_"That's impossible, Jeremy. We've got track this afternoon and you can't keep cutting phys ed all the time. One more time you're going to be in a lot of trouble."_ came Aelita's voice,

"Okay, I'll get back to you." said Jeremy.

_"What are you going to do?"_

"Improvise as usual." said Jeremy, smugly.

Aelita hung up not liking the sound of that one bit.

"Problem; being here in and at class at the same time. It's not easy." muttered Jeremy.

He got an idea and smirked.

* * *

Odd inserted a coin and pressed for what coffee he wanted. He sat down humming while waiting his drink when the machine clogged up. He pressed the button repeatedly while grunting. He punched the machine but still nothing happened. 

"I don't believe it." said Odd.

William was reading a book while Sissy, Aelita, and Yumi looked with amusement. Odd walked out sulking when he looked up with his eyes wide.

"I don't believe it!" said Odd.

That made everyone look where was looking and gasp.

"He sure got ready fast." said Yumi.

Jeremy came out in his gym clothes while drinking a beverage. He finished off the contents and tossed in the air and kicked at the garbage coin.

"Ten points. Hey everybody." said Jeremy,

"You finished all you had to do?" asked Aelita surprised.

"Piece of cake, sweety pie. What do you think? You're looking at the man!"

That freaked out everyone a bit. Jeremy looked at Yumi and adjusted his glasses.

"How's it going, kid? You must have got all dolled up for me today. You wouldn't believe the vibes I'm feeling right now." said Jeremy, looking at Yumi.

William stood up while Aelita crossed her arms glaring at the genius.

"Hey, go back to being Jeremy will you?" asked Yumi,

"It's just that when ever I see you, I don't feel like I'm myself." said Jeremy.

Yumi looked at everyone. They all had the same look on their faces.

"Xana." said Odd.

He lunged at Jeremy who turned and grabbed him by the collar quickly and tossed him into the vending machine. Odd's drink finally slid out of the machine pouring the contents. Odd got up and looked at that.

"Hey, cool!"

Everyone got into a fighting stance around Jeremy. However Yumi's cell phone rang and she answered it.

_"Hello, Yumi?"_ asked a familiar voice.

That was made Yumi drop her guard.

"Jeremy?"

She looked down at the phone and the image of Jeremy sitting at the computer smiling appeared on the screen. Yumi looked at it and then back at the other Jeremy.

_"Well what do you think of me, guys?" _

Yumi looked down at the phone.

"Hold on you mind explaining this?" asked Yumi,

_"You mean you haven't figured that I made a double of myself? A digital copy by activating a tower on Lyoko. This way I can work on the program for finding Franz Hopper and be in gym class at the same time."_

'You might have warned us about it, Einstein." said Odd, rubbing the back of his neck.

_'Sorry guys, but I was in a big hurry."_

"Anyway you ought to know that your double is about the biggest flirt I've ever met." said Yumi, pointing the phone at the Jeremy clone.

Jeremy looked to see the clone.

_"Strange. There must be some merging quality that I didn't expect. Anyway guys, I may not have hit a home run with it but a double is still pretty good."_

* * *

"Belpois?" called Jim, 

"Present."

Jim looked to see Jeremy standing with his friends smiling.

"No this has got be a dream. Jeremy Belpois in person has finally decided to honor us with his presence, in the flesh, all though there is not a whole lot after holding the world's records for absences from every single sport we're all finally watch Mr. Skin and Bones make up for lost time by throwing his lack of weight around." said Jim, laughing.

* * *

Meanwhile Yumi and William were stuck in Mrs. Hertz class as she taught the history of Isaac Newton. 

"Okay just let me get out of the line of fire before I give the signal." said Jim.

He stepped back and put his hand down.

"Go on." said Jim.

Jeremy's clone threw the ball so hard and high it went through the window into a certain teacher's class. Everyone looked to see the model Mrs. Hertz was presenting shattered by an incoming ball.

"Holy Toledo, Belpois." said Jim looking at Jeremy.

Jeremy blew his hands looking all smug as Jim struggled to form words.

* * *

Jeremy was working on his project when there was beeping sound. The screen showed enemy monsters approaching the towers. 

"I don't believe it." said Jeremy.

* * *

In Lyoko above the green tower came three Tarantulas and Xana who walked to the edge and looked down at the tower. 

**"Well look who's busted? Jeremy, have you ever once learned it is against the rules to skip school even with a clone? Time to teach you a lesson."**

Xana looked to the three Tarantulas that followed him.

**"Go on! You too!"**

The Tarantulas positioned themselves around their master to guard him against attacks as he worked. Xana's body was surrounded by a smokey black aura as he floated above the ground and held his arms out towards the tower. The wires that connected the tower to Sector 5 pulsed with red energy as it entered the tower. Xana concentrated as he broke down the barriers and worked to change the instructions programmed in the tower.

* * *

Jeremy quickly dialed Odd's number. 

Jim was teaching Jeremy's clone to throw the javelin while Odd answered his cell phone.

"What's up, Einstein?" asked Odd,

_"Xana's attacking the tower I used. If he takes it over he'll be able to use it for his own evil purposes."_

"Is there anything you can do to stop it?" asked Odd.

_"I'll draw some power from Sector 5 to increase the tower's resistance."_

* * *

The tower that glowed green now changed its color to red. Xana smirked evilly.

* * *

The clone suddenly stopped and aimed the javelin at Odd, Aelita, and Sissy, as its pupils were replaced by the eye of Xana. 

"Hurry up, Einstein." said Odd into the phone.

* * *

More energy was sent into the tower turning it green. Xana grunted as he lost control.

* * *

The clone groaned as electrical energy pulsed through him and the Eye faded from site leaving only the human eyes Jeremy gave it. It then continued its programming as it threw the javelin. Jim was becoming more impressed as each second passed. 

"To the factory." whispered Odd.

They all tried to sneak out when Jim called them.

"Della Robbia, get out here and pick lane against Belpois." said Jim.

They got up and walked towards the track while Sissy and Aelita snuck out.

"On your marks get set; BANG!"

The duplicate moved such speed that Odd was left behind in the dust.

* * *

Xana once again hovered in mid air as he sent more of his energy into the tower. Once again it changed from green to red. Xana smirked again.

* * *

The clone stopped running and turned to Odd before jumping on his and tried to choke him. The clone lifted up a fist and prepared to bring it down.

* * *

"You won't get me that easy, Xana." said Jeremy.

* * *

The tower turned from red back to green.

* * *

Odd knocked the clone of him as it once again Xana lost control of it.

"Della Robbia, you better be careful not to rough up my champion. You okay kid?" said Jim,

"I'm good, Jim." said Jeremy, flipping back up.

"Better safe than sorry. Who would like to take Belpois to the infirmary?" asked Jim.

Odd raised his hand and grabbed the clone leading away from the track. Odd pulled out his cell phone and dialed Yumi and William's number. While in Mrs. Hertz class Yumi and William picked up their phones to took at the text message.

SOS

XANA

Yumi stood up.

"Excuse us, Mrs. Hertz, but can William and I leave the room?" asked Yumi,

"OW! Just go. You haven't seen any pieces of mirror have you?" asked Mrs. Hertz.

"If the Olympic champion would be so kind as to enter?" asked Odd.

He opened the door and led the clone into the boiler room before shutting the door, locking it, and barricading it.

* * *

"Hurry up. I hardly have enough energy to protect the tower." said Jeremy, typing away at the computer. 

In the scanner room William, Yumi, and Aelita stepped into the scanner with Sissy waiting for her turn.

"We're ready, Jeremy." said Aelita.

_"Okay. I'll start the procedure." _

_"Transfer Aelita."_

_"Transfer Yumi."_

_"Transfer William."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Scanner Yumi."_

_"Scanner William."_

_"Virtualization."_

They were overtaken by a bright flash of light that took them straight into Lyoko.

* * *

They appeared in the virtual sky and landed on the ground. This time William managed to land on his feet. He looked down to see the upper part of his body was now black with a gauntlet on his left arm. His cleaver sword was now even larger and sharper. 

He looked to see Yumi and Aelita wearing completely different clothes as well. Yumi's geisha wear was replaced by a more form fitting suit with armor plates on strategic parts along with combat shows and her hair was now done her earth style. Aelita's loose fitting clothes were replaced by an armored skintight suit.

"I love your skirt, Aelita." said Yumi,

"Thanks. Those shoulder pads aren't bad either." said Aelita.

_"Hey you two can discuss fashion later. The activated tower is north by north west."_

Sissy soon enough appeared behind William. Her hair was still done in a pony tail but now she wore skin tight white ninja suit with a pink ribbon that tied her hair back.

"Nice look, Sissy." said William.

The vehicles appeared in front of them and they sped off towards the tower. It wasn't long before they spotted the tower and several other figures near it. Xana looked back as he sensed the Lyoko Warriors close by. Good.

He had just regained control of the tower anyway.

* * *

Odd was spinning the broom around when he heard a banging. 

"Oh great. Here we go again." complained the purple wearing boy.

He ran up and pushed back against the barricade.

"Hey stop pushing! Don't you like it in there?"

The barricade came crashing down and he jumped back to see the clone now a puppet of Xana. Odd held out the stick to fight and clone glared at him when a voice was heard.

"What is going on around here?"

Mr. Delmas came walking down the stairs.

"Just what do you think you are, Belpois?"

Odd nervously grinned.

"No big deal he's just a little bit edgy."

Jean Pierre came and put a hand on the clone's shoulder.

"Now, now calm down, Belpois. Don't you think talking it out would be much more constructive rather lashing out blindingly and violently?"

The clone growled at him. Mr. Delmas gasped as a blast of electricity sent him flying right into the wall. The clone made it for the door when Odd jumped in front of it and swung the stick. However it went right through the clone as it pixilated the body. It grabbed Odd and tossed him into the fallen principal who managed to roll back onto his feet to avoid a crashing impact.

"Thanks a lot for the psychology lesson sir." said Odd, looking out the door where the clone ran.

"Now I've got to catch him."

* * *

Xana looked out to see the warriors coming. William and Sissy who were on the Overcycle looked to see Xana standing in front of three Tarantulas. Once again seeing Xana using the body of their fallen friend made emotions swell up in them. William glared ahead at Xana who simply smirked. 

"Jump Sissy!" shouted William.

They jumped off the Overcycle which sent straight at the enemy group in front of them.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Xana vanished. Just like that he was gone . . . Or was he? A streak of crimson electricity suddenly ran in front of William and Sissy and dashed around them giving them a few strikes from an invisible blade. They yelled as they were knocked back with cuts that sparked to life all over their bodies.

Xana instantly reappeared in front of them holding out his blade with a smirk across his face. A Tarantula screamed as the Overcycle hit it and sent it over the edge. Luckily it landed on the path under the edge as the Overcycle fell into the digital sea.

* * *

Odd panted as he ran through the forests and stopped to catch his breath. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed quickly. 

"Jeremy, your evil Xana-possessed copy is on its way to the factory. He's too fast for me to catch up to him. You're on your own good buddie." said Odd,

"Okay, Odd. I'll see what I can do." said Jeremy hanging up.

He started typing fast as he sent the elevator down and locked it up.

* * *

The other two Tarantulas aimed their guns at the Overwing and Yumi and Aelita found themselves dodging a barrage of constant lasers. However one of those lasers hit and sent Yumi and Aelita falling into the digital sea. Suddenly angel like wings sprouted from Aelita's back. 

"Where did these wings come from?" asked Aelita.

_"You like them? They're just a little surprise I made up in my spare time, Aelita."_

"Jeremy, you are the wind beneath my wings." said the pink haired girl.

The genius blushed.

Aelita flew down avoiding the lasers fired up at her as she grabbed Yumi before she hit the Digital Sea and brought her up on the path in massive hole around the tower.

"Aelita, you're an angel." said Yumi, smiling.

William clashed with Xana rapidly attack while Xana kept blocking the giant sword. He then swiped at William's feet but the boy jumped over. He landed behind Xana and launched a punch which Xana blocked with his left hand pushing it up flipping William over and landed on his feet. He swung his blade vertically but Xana did a one hand back flip over it and landed on his feet.

Xana's blade started to glow red.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

He vanished again and William looked back to see Xana firing a blast of crimson electricity from his sword that sent William back into the real world.

The clone landed in the lobby and punched the button for the elevator breaking it. However the elevator did not come up.

Yumi panted as she ran up the path back to the battle when a laser came down and nearly hit her. She looked to see a Tarantula staring down at her. She panted as she looked up at it. Sissy looked as Xana turned to her.

She pulled out a staff and twirled it in her hand as she lunged Xana. Just as she was close she sent her left arm forward and a strange webbing like fluid shot from her hand and connected with Xana's blade. Then she pulled her left arm back and the sword was sent flying out of Xana's hand. Sissy smirked at the surprised look on Xana's face as she lunged at him.

However Xana was not caught off guard so easily.

**"Even with your upgrades your still just a rookie."**

Sissy swung her staff down but Xana caught it with one hand. Then crimson electricity erupted from Xana's body and blasted Sissy sending her flying back.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Xana vanished and picked up his fallen sword. Sissy only had a few seconds to look as Xana sliced through her virtual form sending her back into the real world.

The clone landed in front of the door and started break through it. Jeremy looked to see his clone forcefully open the door.

Aelita flew through the air dodging laser after laser as Xana joined up with his monsters. She flew down into the massive hole avoiding the lasers. Xana looked down and then at the monster next to him.

**"Go on!"**

Aelita looked up to see a Tarantula falling above her. She yelped and dodged by a few inches as it landed in front of the tower. However the sudden brush sent her falling below the platform. However she overcame the shock and flew back up.

Yumi dropped one of her fans as the Tarantula fired another shot.

* * *

Odd climbed out of the sewers and jumped into the factory lobby. He looked to see the elevator switch was smashed. 

"He leaves an impression wherever he goes." muttered Odd.

_"Yumi watch out! You've lost forty life points already."_

Yumi side flipped as she dodged another laser shot and threw her fan. However the Tarantula dodged her attack and jumped down in front of her. Luckily her fan flew back and sliced through the monster's neck. It roared as it exploded and Yumi caught her fan.

Aelita flew out of the hole and into the sky as the other Tarantula fired at her. She flew away from the hole and then turned right back towards the direction of Xana and his servant.

"Energy Field!"

She fired two energy balls that destroyed the Tarantula but Xana managed to block with his sword. Xana turned and looked to see Aelita fly back onto the hole towards the tower.

* * *

The clone stepped towards Jeremy with murderous intent in its eyes. 

"Odd where are you?" asked Jeremy over the intercom.

The clone put its fists together and electricity crackled around them.

"Yoo-hoo Jeremy one and two." said a voice.

They looked up to see Odd falling from the top of the room with his broom stick,

"Banzai!"

Odd landed on top of the clone knocking it down.

"You may be his evil twin but you fight like a lousy evil twin!"

He swung the stick down only for the clone to blast it with electricity.

"It's not too late to take back what I said is it?"

The clone answer by blasting Odd off him and into the computer. The clone got up and Jeremy screamed. However before attacking, the clone ran its hands through its keeping it straight. Jeremy dropped his guard which was a bad move.

The clone than lit up with electricity and blasted Jeremy into the wall.

* * *

The last Tarantula guarding the tower fired at Aelita as she flew around the tower looking for a way to get past it. She flew underneath the desert platform the tower was on and the Tarantula looked around and then walked to the edge. It leaned over and looked down. 

"Energy Field!"

The Tarantula looked to see a pink ball of energy slam into its face as it fell over and exploded. Aelita flew out from under the platform and looked at Yumi.

"Well done!" shouted the geisha warrior.

Aelita nodded and flew towards the tower. She landed right in front of it and entered the tower.

Jeremy looked up to see the clone gathering electricity into its hands.

Aelita flew up to the upper platform.

"Keep your hands off my buddy!" shouted Odd.

The clone didn't even move as Odd tackled it getting blasted by the electricity. The clone growled and raised its fist.

Aelita walked up to the screen and placed her hand on it.

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

"Tower Deactivated." said Aelita as all the data flew down into the dark abyss.

Just as the clone finished and through the punch that would have destroyed Jeremy it exploded into a mass of darkness and faded. Odd and Jeremy groaned as William and Sissy entered the room. The tower turned from red to white and Yumi smiled. But not for long.

She heard a thud and turned to see Xana standing behind her. He smirked and aimed his sword at her throat sending nearly over the edge.

"Jeremy, Ulrich's trying to push me over the digital sea." said Yumi.

She winced as she used Ulrich's name instead of Xana. The boy in front of her was no longer Ulrich but every time she looked at his face she always remembered the last time she ever saw the dark haired boy.

_"Yumi, I'll bring you back in."_

Xana moved the sword closer to her throat causing Yumi move an inch back.

**"Still using name of this vessel's previous owner, Yumi? I must say you never acted like this in all the times Ulrich tried to tell what he felt. Of course there was always an interruption and not just me. You should have told him and he would have died in peace."**

Xana's sick twisted taunt went right through her very soul. Yumi heard Jeremy and others talking about the computer wasn't working which seemed to please Xana even more. Xana dropped the sword and reached out with the back of his and touched, just touched Yumi's cheek.

**"Of course you can always dream of what could have happened. If you can somehow swim out of the Digital Sea."**

With that Xana pushed Yumi over the edge. At the last second Yumi grabbed Xana and they both fell into the Digital Sea. Suddenly a purple blur was seen and Yumi found herself on the Overboard. She looked up to see Odd looking even more cat like and wearing knight like armor.

"You didn't think I'd let you down would you?" asked Odd, smiling.

They looked down to see Xana vanish into the Digital Sea.

"Hey what do you think of my new outfit?" asked Odd.

Yumi sighed.

"Yeah. That's what I think too." said Odd, sighing.

_"Return to the Past now!"_

* * *

Everyone sat in the computer lab. 

"So there's no way to bring Ulrich back?" asked Aelita,

"Not unless you want a mindless body. I can't work miracles no matter how good I am. With his mind deleted Ulrich's body has no chance of being materialized unless Xana is the one using it. We have no choice for now.

We'll have to make a copy of Ulrich to replace him at the academy." said Jeremy,

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked William.

"Yeah but's the only way to calm Jim and Delmas." said Jeremy,

"Okay but don't ever ask me to take the copy to the infirmary. Okay?" said Odd.

* * *

Another presence watched them from the Digital Network. 

"I wish I can reassure you all that your friend is still alive. But for now he needs his rest and I cannot afford to let Xana know where I am yet."

The being looked sadly at the sleeping brown haired boy. He looked so peaceful in the white void the being resided in.

"Please forgive me."

* * *

Lord Maximus: For now everyone I am going to be doing Season 4 episodes but make no mistake the real Ulrich will return with the help of a certain someone. 


	9. Chapter 9

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

Merry Christmas to all of my readers and favorite authors and anyone else on this site.

Yumi walked up to the usual table where her friends gathered.

* * *

"Hi, everybody." 

Everyone gave their own greetings.

"What's happening, Yumi?" asked William, looking at the news paper.

She looked at the news paper surprised.

"Nothing Really. Do you mean there's actually some news in the Kadic News this time?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard?" asked Odd, putting down his paper.

"Chris is coming to Kadic." said Sissy, smiling big.

"Chris who?" asked Yumi.

"You're kidding? Haven't you heard of the Subdigitals?" asked William, incredulously.

"I have, they're music isn't bad. One of the contemporary artists I like." said Yumi,

"Chris is their drummer and he'll be at Kadic today." said Odd.

"Hey you guys, cool it. Sounds like a phony scoop." said Yumi,

"Yeah, it's probably another one of Milly and Tamiya's dumb stories." agreed Jeremy.

"Well it could be for real, it seems Chris is coming here to visit his uncle." said Aelita,

"You mean Chris has an uncle who works here?" asked Yumi.

"I wonder who that could be." asked Aelita,

"You too, Aelita? How can you believe that stuff?" asked Jeremy, dubiously.

They put their trays away and walked out of the cafe.

"If its true than who you think his uncle really is?" asked Yumi,

"Hume, Sherdan, not Mr. Delmas because Sissy said he's not her cousin." said William.

"Although being related to the drummer of the Subdigitals could have its advantages." said Sissy, smirking.

"If you were his cousin you would be shouting it out to anyone that would listen to you." said Aelita,

"What about Riley?" asked William.

"What? Micheal Riley, the custodian? Right, in that case why not Jim . . ."

Odd didn't get to finish his sentence as he bumped into everyone's favorite gym teacher.

"Well done, Della Robbia, just as clumsy as ever." said Jim,

"Jim! What a coincidence, we were just talking about you." said Odd.

"About me?" asked Jim, raising his eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. It seems the Subdigital's drummer is coming to Kadic this afternoon and we thought you'd be the first to know." said Odd,

"Me? No, who gave you an idea like that?" asked Jim.

"Oh, I almost forgot. How stupid of me.( Fake slaps his head). That's not your style at all. You're more into oldies, right?" asked Odd,

"Yeah, but wait I second. I also happen to like rock music, and I love the Subdigitals. Those guys are very talented artists, especially my nephew. He's really great." said Jim, smiling.

"I was right! You're Chris' uncle. I can't believe it!" said Odd,

"Uh, I didn't say that did I?" asked Jim.

"Uh uh. You sure did, Jim. That's what he said right?" asked Odd.

Everyone smiled and nodded.

"Okay, okay, little Chris is my nephew." said Jim.

Yumi, Aelita, and Sissy smiled at that.

"But . . ."

"Wow! Now that's what I call a sensational scoop!" said Odd,

"I'm counting on you not to reveal this to anyone. Especially you, Della Robbia. I don't want this getting around." said Jim glaring hard at Odd.

"I promise not to tell a living soul, Jim." said Odd.

(Camera flashes ahead thirty seconds later.)

Jim is seen running from a hoard of fan girls

"Hey you all got the wrong guy! I don't know any Chris! I've never heard of the guy! Go away! Away I say!"

Jim kept running as the fan girls kept chasing him.

* * *

Tamiya took a picture with her camera of Jean Pierre, Jim who had just got rid of his fan girls, and a white haired man who had the same chin as Jim and was tall as the gym teacher. 

"My dear, Chris on behalf of the entire staff and student body of Kadic Academy I would like to wish a very welcome here." said Mr. Delmas.

The fan girls screamed at him, calling his name again and again.

"Thank you all for the enthusiasm. And I guess all of you know, I came here to visit my uncle! But there's another reason as well. The Subdigitals have decided to do a school tour, to discover new talent, and to develop that talent by giving you guys the chance to be the opening act of our next gym concert! Thanks to the authorization of your principal we'll be holding an opening audition this afternoon in your gymnasium!"

The cheers kicked into overdrive.

* * *

Odd dashed into his room and began to rifle through his drawers. 

"Now where did they go? I know put them around here somewhere!" said Odd,

"Did Ulrich ever tell you to put your things away, Odd?" asked William.

"Ha ha. Very funny. You know, you guys could give me a hand!" said Odd,

"If you tell us what is maybe we could help you find it." said Yumi.

"My CD Demo! I actually have i to play for Chris!" said Odd.

Yumi bent down next to Odd and examined the lowest drawer which was where Kiwi was sleeping. She pulled a CD out from under Kiwi's paw.

"Well you did put it away in Kiwi's drawer." said Yumi,

"Let me see. (Snatches the disk from Yumi's hand). Yes this is it! Thanks my adorable little diggity dog! Glory and fame are around the corner! I just hope not a lot of kids." said Odd petting Kiwi's head.

* * *

Apparently luck was not on Odd's side today. The line for the auditions was roughly the length of a freeway. 

"What were you saying about no long lines?" asked William,

* * *

Aelita checked inside her cabinet for her demo. She knelt down by her bed and pulled out one of the drawers. She grabbed a cardboard box and dumped out the contents. 

"Aha!"

She took out the CD and kissed it.

"There you are!"

She got up and ran towards the door and opened it to reveal Jeremy.

"Aelita, I thought since Mr. Delmas cancelled classes today we could get started on our virtual ship." said Jeremy.

Aelita's eyes became downcast and Jeremy noticed the CD in her her hands.

"Oh come on! You're not going to waste your time with that! Just think what Xana is plotting on the network right now! We have to find a way to track or else who knows what will happen!" said Jeremy,

"Okay, Jeremy. I won't go." said Aelita, putting the CD down.

Jeremy smiled and led her to his dorm. Aelita wondered if Lyoko was all Jeremy thought of.

* * *

Odd finished off his demo with a flourish. He removed his head phones and smiled at Chris. 

"And there you go! It's Odd, Odd Della Robbia! And what you heard is just a taste of musical talents. I've got a lost of other tracks, you want to hear them?" asked Odd,

"Well, maybe some other time, Odd." said Chris, with an open jaw.

Odd sighed, and walked down from the stage. He placed his CD on the top of the pile Chris had on his table.

"I was good wasn't I?" asked Odd, sullenly.

"Well you gave it your best shot and that's the main thing." said Yumi,

"You said it was different and boy was it different." said William.

"Oh well." said Sissy.

* * *

Aelita blocked out whatever Jeremy was saying about the connection between Lyoko and the Digital Network. 

"Hey, Aelita, will you hand me those figures?"

When there was no answer Jeremy turned and looked at Aelita.

"Are you all right?"

"Huh? Is something wrong?"

"No, I think I can finish up on my own. If you want to go you can go." said Jeremy, getting what she wanted.

"Are you sure?" asked Aelita,

"Yeah it's fine."

"All right! See ya later!"

The pink haired girl dashed out of room leaving Jeremy to wonder if a stupid band was more important than Lyoko. Aelita ran into the gym and noticed it was empty. She had downed look on her face when she noticed the stage and went up on it.

* * *

"Let's see how this sounds." 

The girls were hassling Chris with annoying questions while Jim was working to calm down. They all stopped when they heard some music from the gym.

"Hold it! That's fantastic! It's what I've been looking for all day!"

Chris pushed through the girls and leapt down the stairs in front of the gym. When he entered he saw no one at the DJ controls.

"Darn! I'm too late!"

* * *

Jeremy was working on the computer when a beeping noise caught his attention.

* * *

Aelita ran underneath the admin's wing's covered hallway. She saw Chris leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. 

"Chris I was looking for you!"

She pulled out her CD when Chris grabbed her wrists and shocked her with electricity knocking her out. The Eye of Xana flashed in Chris' sunglasses.

* * *

Milly and Tamiya were working towards the admin wing when they saw Chris. 

"Chris! I bet you found who the mystery DJ is right?" asked Milly.

They noticed Aelita draped over his shoulder as he walked past them without saying a word.

* * *

Yumi put down her cell phone after hearing from Jeremy about a Xana attack. 

"She's not picking up." said Yumi,

"She's not in her room either. We were working together but she was more focused on showing her demo to Chris." said Jeremy.

"Well it doesn't take an idiot to figure it that out." said Sissy,

"You think Aelita's the mystery DJ?" asked Odd.

"Looks like it." said William.

"Mind filling me in?" asked Jeremy,

"Later. William, you and Odd go check the principal's office. Aelita must have gone there to meet Chris. Meet us at the factory." said Yumi.

Odd and William ran towards the admin walk when they passed Milly and Tamiya who were sitting down in shock.

"You two look like you're in shock." said William,

"Chris just kidnapped Aelita!" said Milly.

"WHAT!?" said both of them.

"We just saw Chris pass by with Aelita over his shoulder. He was totally weird like the killed in _Executioner II!_" said Milly.

Shouldn't we call the police?" asked Tamiya,

"I wouldn't do that. It's for the . . . video! The New Subdigital's video. They're doing this sci-fi thing where robots invade the world!" said Yumi,

They ran off leaving Milly and Tamiya opened mouth.

"Chris didn't look Xanaified." said William,

"It must be a clone." said Odd.

* * *

The clone following Xana's instructions placed Aelita in one of the three scanners and appeared in the lab activated the virtualization sequence. It disappeared into black smoke as the elevator door opened revealing Yumi, Sissy, and Jeremy. The boy genius ran up to the chair and looked at the screen. 

"Aelita's been virtualized onto Lyoko." said Jeremy,

"You better hurry and fire up the scanners." said Yumi.

"Right but first I have to make a call." said Jeremy.

He dialed William's number.

_"Yeah, Jeremy?"_

"You can stop looking for Aelita. She's on Lyoko."

_"We know. There's a polymorphic specter on the loose. But we still got a problem."_

"What?"

_"Jim and Chris followed us through the passage."_

"I guess you should just bring them along. I'll launch a Return to the Past when the tower is deactivated."

He hung up and started the sequence.

"Transfer Yumi."

"Transfer Sissy."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Scanner Sissy."

"Virtualization!"

* * *

Aelita awoke to find herself in the Forest Sector of Lyoko surrounded by four Crabs. 

**"Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, dear Aelita. What will you do? What will you do?"**

That voice was what made her turn around to see Xana sitting on a boulder like it was a throne. He looked amused at her situation which he most likely was. He jumped off the rock and landed right in front of her. He held out his hand and a ball of smoke hit the pink haired girl sending her flying into the air and being directed towards the Digital Sea.

Xana smirked but a sound of movement was caught by his ears and he spun around pulling out his katana blocking the two incoming fans. His distraction allowed Aelita to fall onto her back. Yumi and Sissy ran up to them.

"You may have Ulrich's body, Xana, but you're still vulnerable to attack." said Yumi.

**"Attack!"**

The four Crabs turned and fired at them. Yumi flipped and dodged the firestorm of lasers while Sissy twirled her staff blocking the lasers. Aelita took advantage of the diversion and ran towards the tower. Xana watched the fight when he noticed Aelita was running.

**"Follow her!"**

The Crabs ceased their attacks and pursued Aelita leaving Xana to deal with Yumi and Sissy.

"I've been waiting for this, Xana." said Yumi, spitting out the digital fiend's name.

**"We'll see who falls the hardest, Yumi."**

"Sissy, go help Aelita. I'll deal with Xana." said Yumi,

"No. You may not consider me an ally but I am a member of Team Lyoko like you. I'm not about to let you fight for revenge. Believe me I am just as upset about Ulrich as you but he loved you I know that and I am not about to let you go ahead and lose your sanity just for revenge." said Sissy.

Before Yumi could reply Sissy charged forward with her bladed staff to fight. Sissy swung her staff hard but Xana blocked it with his katana just mere inches from his head. Sissy thrusted for Xana's chest but Xana blocked and went for Sissy's head. Sparks spit off the blades as Sissy blocked the attack above her head.

Xana jumped back as Sissy lunged at him and side stepped the rookie as she swung and swung the katana at Sissy's head. Xana then looked to see Yumi's fans flying at him. He blocked the first one and dodged the other one only for Yumi who landed her back on the ground skidding across the few yards between her and Xana sending him flying away with a kick. Xana however landed on one hand and did a back flip landing on his feet.

Sissy fired webbing at him but Xana dodged them. Sissy then fired webbing at a high tree and swung into the air towards her foe.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Xana ran at Sissy as she sling shotted herself at him. He jumped as he used the Lightning Sprint over her and sliced through her virtual form. She landed as she devirtualized. Xana then turned to Yumi who came out of nowhere landing on his back launching him back and sending him face first into the ground.

"Jeremy, where's Aelita?" asked Yumi.

_"South of your position along with the tower. I'll be sending Odd and William in a few minutes."_

* * *

Jeremy was typing fast as a black cloud appeared behind him and shape shifted into Chris. The clone grabbed Jeremy by the neck and tossed him into the elevator door with great force. The door opened to reveal William, Chris, Odd, and Jim. 

"What is this place, some kind of mad scientist's hideout?" asked Jim

Chris looked to see the ploymorphic specter.

"Who's that a stunt double or a clone?"

"Something infinitely worse. A polymorphic specter." said William.

"Specter or not, he's not getting my autograph!" said Chris.

Chris walked over to the specter which grabbed him by the collar and tossed him aside. Jim ran up the clone and caught it in a head lock.

"Now you'll see what it's like to deal with an ex-Special Forces Agent."

The clone dissolved and escaped Jim's clutches. The clone reappeared behind Jim. Odd ran up to Jeremy.

"Now would be a good time to wake up, Einstein."

"Get down to the scanners." said Jeremy weakly.

* * *

Aelita kept running as the Crabs chased her firing lasers. She notices a gap coming up and jumps onto the platform on the other side of the gap. She looks back to see the Crabs stop their pursuit and smirks. But stops when she hears something and saw another Crab behind her. 

She kept running as the Crab fired lasers at her.

"This is getting nowhere. Time to fly!"

She activated her wings and started flying. However the Crab managed to hit her wings deactivating them and sending her falling into the Digital Sea.

"Jeremy!"

An Overwing appeared which she landed on.

"Thanks Jeremy! That was a close one."

_"Your welcome, now move out! Get to the tower!"_

"Right!"

She flew the Overwing over the Crab who had just met up with the other four Crabs.

_

* * *

"Virtualization!"_

* * *

William and Odd landed right between all five Crabs as they were about to pursue Aelita. 

"Hey there you little crab cakes, did you miss us?" asked Odd.

He fired several arrows that destroyed one Crab while the others fired at them. William blocked the attacks with his sword as he ran towards the tower leaving Odd to deal with the Crabs.

* * *

Yumi black flipped away from Xana as he swung at her. They were now on a log over a lake leading to an island with two more logs as bridges. Yumi's fans were deflected as she black flipped but Xana fired a ball of black smoke which hit her. Xana then sliced her virtual form sending back into the real world. 

"You know I doubt Ulrich would think that's the right way to get a date with Yumi." said a voice.

Xana looked to William hop onto the log.

**"Look who's talking, lover boy. As I recall your little love obsession even annoyed Miss Little Geisha."**

Xana side stepped William's blade and swung his sword. William jumped back and leapt into the air ready to swing his massive cleaver down. Xana back flipped and William's sword hit the log. He tugged the massve sword but it was stuck.

Xana smirked.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

William saw a crimson blur and then nothing as he devirtualized. Xana smirked but sensed Aelita was close to the tower.

**"Manta, pursue and capture!"**

A black colored Manta flew out of the Digital Sea and flew after Aelita before it was hit by an arrow. Xana looked to see Odd on the Overboard firing Laser Arrows, killing the Manta.

**"Just when things were going so well."**

Xana jumped over the edge into the Digital Sea.

* * *

Aelita entered the tower and flew up to the upper platform. She placed her hand on the screen. 

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

"Tower Deactivated." said Aelita.

* * *

The polymorphic clone fizzled and dissolved. 

"Belpois, I want an explanation. What is all this equipment for?" roared Jim,

"I would but I am getting tired of explaining it to you Jim and in ten seconds you won't remember it anyway." said Jeremy.

"Return to the Past now!"

* * *

"I guess thanks to Xana we've got another free afternoon to work on our virtual ship." said Jeremy, 

"Uh uh." said Aelita.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" said Jeremy.

The door opened revealing Chris.

"Excuse me I am looking for Aelita Stones."

"That's me but I . . ."

"That's great! I just listened to your demo and I think it's awesome! Can we go down to the gym? I'd love to hear it preformed live." said Chris.

"Well I don't know . . ." said Aelita, looking at Jeremy.

"Take it. It's an offer you can't refuse." said Jeremy, smiling.

"All right! Let's go!"

Jeremy was left smiling at his computer.


	10. Chapter 10

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

It was night in France as our heroes were working on the project that would allow them to gain the upper hand in the struggle against their digital nemesis. Odd was throwing a ball across the room, Aelita and Jeremy were working, Sissy and William were leaning against the wall, and Yumi was taking nap.

"Jeremy, how's the virtual submarine going? I can't wait to go on a Xana hunt." said Odd.

He threw the ball again and it bounced across the room past in front of Jeremy's face.

"Odd!"

"Shh! You don't want to wake sleeping beauty." said Odd, looking at Yumi.

The girl seemed to be getting back to her old self but it was still hard on her for what became of Ulrich. Aelita smirked.

"The coordinates have been recognized by the supercomputer." said Aelita,

"That's great teamwork, huh Aelita? I couldn't have done it without your help." said Jeremy, giving Aelita a thumbs up.

"Less flirting, more typing." said William,

"Or get a room." muttered Sissy.

"The programming is complete. Time to launch the construction phase. I'm ready, Jeremy." said Aelita.

"Just a few more seconds and I'll be all set too." said Jeremy.

Yumi woke up and stretched her arms like a cat.

"Okay, I'm ready. Now?" asked Jeremy,

"Yeah, now." said Aelita.

Aelita and Jeremy both pressed the ENTER button and a schematic appeared on the supercomputer. Yumi walked up to Jeremy.

"Hey what's that room? It's new to me." said Yumi,

"Aelita just programmed it into the core zone. It will be used as the hangar for the sub." said Jeremy.

"We need to christen it. Give it a name." said Odd,

"Odd we name the sub after it's been built. But nothing says we can't we give it a code name." said Jeremy.

"Good idea. Why don't we call her Melanie?" asked Odd,

"Melanie? You mean that red head you're so gaga about?" asked Aelita, smirking.

"You have a crush on a girl who reminds you of a submarine?" asked William,

"You call that code name? A code name is supposed sound cool, suave and most importantly, stylish." said Sissy.

"You know it's pretty late why don't we talk about while we're walking?" asked Yumi, heading for the elevator.

* * *

"I can't believe it! Soon we'll be able to track Xana on the network!" said Jeremy in his room with Aelita.

"We might be able to localize my dad." said Aelita.

"We better not get our hopes up. It's going to be hard."

"I know but I completely lost hope when Xana destroyed all of Lyoko."

The door opens up and familiar voice is heard.

"Belpois! What are doing here?!"

"It's my room." said Jeremy in a matter of fact tone.

Jim looked around stupidly.

"I know that! Now as I was saying: Ms Stone what are you doing here?" asked Jim, holding a flash light to his face.

"Well, um . . ."

"Ms. Stones you ought to know that the girls have the upstairs which is their floor and they are not allowed to stay down here which is the boy's floor. And tomorrow you can repeat word-for-word of what I just said to the principal!" said Jim, closing the door.

* * *

It was easy to say they were in trouble. The principal had given them detention for the afternoon in the library for the afternoon. They were busy talking to Odd and Sissy while their teacher was talking about Shakespeare.

"This is a total disaster! If we don't to the factory at four pm sharp than it's so long Melanie." said Jeremy,

"So what are going to do?" asked Sissy.

"Skip out. No matter what the consequences are." said Aelita,

"What? You can't do that! You leave the library and they'll throw you out of school for sure!" said Odd.

"We absolutely need the submarine to travel through the network." said Jeremy,

"But if you guys get expelled how do we fight Xana?" asked Sissy.

"I have an idea!" said Odd, a little too loudly.

"Yes, Odd? What do you find to be more interesting than Shakespeare?" asked the teacher,

"Um . . . Melanie?"

The class erupted into laughter.

* * *

"What about using lunch time to get away? We could tell Jim that you're in the infirmary because you ate something that didn't agree with you." said Odd,

"You think that might work?" asked Jeremy.

"What's on the menu for lunch? That's the main factor." said Aelita,

"Ravioli." said Sissy.

"Oh yeah, it's bound to work." said Jeremy.

Jim came up to the group.

"Belpois! Stones! You know what? We're going to be having lunch together, so that way we'll be get you to the library on time!" said Jim.

Jeremy and Aelita sighed as they walked off with Jim.

* * *

"We need to find a way to get them out of there by 4 o'clock." said Yumi.

Odd got a big grin on his face as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed. A second later Jim picked up his phone. He talks for a few seconds and then stand up cheering. Everyone looks at him and he get's a sheepish look on his face. He approaches the Lyoko Gang's table with a mad look on his face.

"Della Robbia, you're the one who's going to wish he had a twin brother to do the detention I'm going to give you!"

He walked away with Jeremy and Aelita following.

"I knew that wouldn't work." said William,

"Why? It was perfect!" said Odd.

"Jim's not that stupid . . ." said William,

"You were both in the same room . . ." said Yumi.

"And you are just plain idiotic sometimes." said Sissy.

* * *

Jeremy stared at his watch as he and Aelita sat down in the library with bored looks on their faces as Jim read a sumo magazine. His computer started beeping and he looked at it. Aelita started typing a text message when she was interrupted.

"Confiscated! You're here to study. That's all. Meaning there's no gabbing your head of with your mobile. Your cell phone, Belpois." said Jim.

Jeremy handed Jim the cell phone and looked at his watch. He tilted his head up to see Odd and Sissy at one of the windows. He took out his watch and angled it to hit the sun. The light hit Odd's face and both he and Sissy fell down.

"Well any bright ideas working out?" asked Yumi as she and William walked up to Sissy and Odd.

"No but speaking of bright ideas Jeremy tried to blind us with one of his." said Odd,

"Let me have a look." said Yumi.

William lifted her up to the window and the light hit her eye.

"Its Morse code turkey." said Yumi,

"Morse code turkey? Sounds scrumptious." said Odd.

"You and your stomach, Odd." said Sissy,

"Jeremy's trying to communicate. Three short, three long, three short, SOS!" said Yumi.

"Why'd you learn Morse code?" asked William,

"Hiroki and I keep secrets from our parents that way. Fac-tor-y, Factory!" said Yumi.

"What, SOS factory? Not a word about Melanie?" asked Odd,

"No time to lose, the message ended with the word, Xana!" said Yumi, jumping off William.

They ran inside the factory and took the elevator down.

"I hope we make it in time." said William,

'Jeremy better have a plan." said Yumi.

Aelita walked up to Jim.

"Is it true that you used to be a math teacher?" asked Aelita,

"Uh, affirmative." said Jim.

"I can't figure out what the square of the hypotenuse is. Could you help me out?" asked Aelita.

While Aelita distracted Jim, Jeremy opened up his computer opened an instant message box and looked at the hangar.

* * *

Yumi entered the lab and saw an instant message box.

"'Xana's attacking Melanie, Yumi take over.'"

She started the virtualization sequence as Sissy, William, and Odd entered the scanners.

"Transfer Sissy."

"Transfer William."

"Transfer Odd."

"Scanner Sissy."

"Scanner William."

"Scanner Odd."

"Virtualization."

* * *

Odd, Sissy, and William appeared in the core zone and raced towards the hangar. They noticed a blue segmented wall where normally there would be a maze and the key.

"Wow, Aelita did a fantastic job." said Odd,

"Amazing." said Sissy.

"Yumi, we're almost at the hangar." said William.

_"I'll let Jeremy know. I've lost contact with Jeremy."_

"Still we're underneath the hangar." said Sissy.

They looked up to the room made of dark blue bricks with a large circular platform surrounding a cone-shape with semicircular prongs jutting out from the side and a large mast at the bottom. They saw several monsters and Xana above them surrounding the sub. The elevator stopped as it came up to the platform and caught eyes of Xana and his monsters.

**"Well look who finally showed up. It wouldn't be a well satisfied victory without a little fun."**

Xana smirked as his sword appeared in his hand out of a wisp of black smoke. William pointed his sword while Sissy twirled her staff. Xana smirked and pointed his sword at them. His sword glowed bright red and unleashed a crimson blast of electricity. Sissy quickly jumped and swung around on a web string.

The Creepers fired at her but she swung around too fast and sling shotted herself at one of them. It was knocked off the platform as her foot slammed into its face. Sissy turned to see the other Creepers turn and fired at her. She back flipped to dodge and pulled out her staff to block the attacks.

Odd climbed onto the platform and caught a Creeper's eye. It turned and fired but missed.

"Laser Arrow!"

Odd however did not miss. The other two Creepers turned and fired. William swung his blade again and again while Xana smirked side stepping each swing. However William backed Xana towards the edge as he swung.

Of course Xana is not so easily cornered. He jumped onto a cable that kept the platform together. Xana ducked as William swung his blade and sent his foot out tripping the boy. William fell dropping his sword and looked to see Xana swing his sword down. William raised his left hand and the gauntlet blocked the attack.

Xana flipped back and landed a few yards away.

**"Mantas."**

On his command the Flying Mantas that were waiting outside flew into the hangar. The Creepers kept on firing as Odd kept dodging and firing. They forced him back as he dodged. Odd then heard a sound and looked to see four Flying Mantas fly into the hangar.

"That's all we needed, Xana's air force." said Odd.

The Flying Mantas aimed at the submarine and fired. William kept swinging but while he had strength Xana had Ulrich's speed and abilities. Odd caught another Creeper's attention as it fired and he dodged. He leapt out of the way and grabbed onto a pipe on the upper portion of the floor.

He flipped himself high and as he managed to right himself as he fired an arrow that hit the Creeper and destroyed it. It exploded as Odd grabbed another pipe and did a hand stand catching another Creeper's attention. He flipped downward dodging the attack. Sissy sling shotted herself at a Flying Manta with her webbing and plunged her staff into the Eye.

It exploded as she landed and dodged a blast from a Creeper. Odd fired an arrow and destroyed it.

"They're just like sitting ducks. Well, sitting Creepers that is." said Odd.

A laser hit him in the back. One of the Mantas had broken off from the attack on the sub and targeted Odd and Sissy. They both flipped back dodging lasers. It flew underneath the platform and Odd aimed at the Eye as it came back destroying the creature with a well placed hit. William swung his blade again but Xana reached out with his hand as he ran in close blocked at the hilt before tossing William towards the edge.

William looked up and blocked.

"You're not going to win, Xana. No matter what!" said William.

**"Oh, I'm afraid victory for me is close, rookie. So take whatever thought that gives you the idea of actually winning and delete it."**

* * *

Finally Jeremy and Aelita arrive in the lab.

"It's about time you guys showed up." said Yumi,

"Okay, Yumi, Aelita, head for the scanners. Only eight minutes to go!" said Jeremy.

* * *

A Flying Manta flew in and fired while odd leapt dodging a shot from it.

_"Odd, William, Sissy, backup is on the way."_

"Great, things are heating up around here!" said Odd.

He leapt on top of a Manta and blasted it. As he flew back from the explosion another one flew at him and fired.

"Oh no!"

The laser hit him and sent him back into the real world. It turned its sight to William and fired a laser that hit him in the knee. Xana took advantage of his distraction and kicked William in the head knocking his zanbato out of his hand. Xana then stabbed William sending him back into the real world.

Just as he turned his sights to the sub a fan flew out and sliced his shoulder. He turned to see Yumi and Aelita on the elevator.

**"Hello, ladies. You're a little late."**

"It's always nice to feel needed isn't it?" asked Yumi, glaring.

Sissy jumped down and shot her webbing at a strut as she launched herself down at Xana. However a Manta fired and hit her before she got close. Xana smirked and turned back to Yumi and Aelita.

**"Triplicate!"**

Two copies were instantly created and charged at the two girls along with the last Flying Manta. Xana leapt onto the sub and pointed his sword down. He plunged it into the shield layer which created a shock wave that rippled through the sub. Yumi threw her fan that missed the Manta but Aelita didn't.

The two clones jumped at them but Yumi jumped and slid on the ground kicking her clone in the chest sending it falling off the platform. Aelita fired an massive Energy Field as he prepared the final blow. He dodged the attack but Yumi jumped at him and they both fell of the platform. Xana looked and sliced Yumi before hitting the bottom and vanished into a black cloud with a red eye.

_"It's done. The second stage of programming is underway,"_

* * *

"But Melanie's a great name why don't we keep it?" asked Odd,

"It's a great name for a girl, not for a submarine." said Yumi.

"Well for a ship that's going to hunt down Xana on the network we need a name that has some punch. Like Nautilus for example?" said Jeremy,

"That's pretty original." said Odd.

"Find a better one. Aelita are you coming." said Jeremy,

"Just a minute."

She came out with a red book in her hands.

"My father used to read this when I was five."

"Viking Gods and Legends?" asked Jeremy,

"Look at that. It was a tall mythical ship that could even sail on land and it always reached its destination no matter which direction the wind was blowing." said Aelita.

"The Skidbladnir?" asked Jeremy,

"Skidblad what now?" asked Odd.

"I really like that name." said Yumi,

"I like it, too." said William.

"I second the name." said Sissy,

"Okay, our new ship's name is Skidbladnir." said Jeremy happily.

"How about Skid for short?" asked Odd,

"I can deal with that." said William.


	11. Chapter 11

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

Merry Christmas to all of my readers and favorite authors and anyone else on this site.

* * *

Jeremy had a gloomy look on his face as he stood in the place he despised. Gym class. Listening to Jim ramble on about the creation of rock climbing.

"And so don't forget by challenging yourselves you can move mountains, and might I add, climb them. Belpois get up there. See if you're ready for the challenge." said Jim gesturing towards the rock climbing wall.

Jeremy gulped as he walked towards the wall.

"This will be the practical part of today's lesson." said Jim.

Jeremy gulped as he took a hand-fold and pulled himself up. He got to five feet when he stopped and took a break.

"What's the matter? Pull up with your arms and push up with your legs. Have you got chewing gum for muscles or what?" asked Jim.

Jeremy moved up higher but as he reached for another hand-fold he missed it. He lost his balance and landed with a soft thump on the ground.

"Of if the only exercise you get is clicking your computer mouse you're not going to conquer any peaks. Della Robbia! Show you're buddy how it's done!" said Jim.

Jeremy and Odd walked past each other as Odd climbed the wall and Aelita patted Jeremy's shoulder.

"It's no big deal, Jeremy." said Aelita.

* * *

Everyone was eating except Jeremy. He was too embarrassed to eat. Yumi and William walked in and noticed Jeremy looking gloomy.

"What happened this morning?" asked Yumi,

"He tried to scale the rock wall in gym." said Sissy.

"Ouch." said William,

"Okay, enough said." said Yumi.

"I don't believe it. I can't be that bad in every single sport." said Jeremy, sullenly.

"Of course not. Actually you really are lame in anything athletic." said Aelita.

Jeremy threw a look at her and groaned.

"Aelita, I think that was less then helpful. He looks even more sour." said Sissy,

"Anyway who care? You can't be a champion at everything." said Aelita.

"Come on, Einstein, stop sulking around. Listen if you want we can try scaling the wall together." said Odd,

"You think I have time for that monkey business? I've got too much work to do!" said Jeremy.

"That's for sure. You and Aelita have been shut up in the computer lab. What are you working on?" asked Yumi,

"We're ironing the final kinks in the Skid." said Aelita.

"You're still working on that? I thought it was done." said William,

"William, traveling through the network is not exactly like taking a stroll through Lyoko. And once in the digital sea it's still a complete mystery. For all we know the Skid could disintegrate during it's first dive!" said Jeremy.

"Well, that reassuring. You going to eat that?" asked Odd looking at Jeremy's tray.

"Go ahead." said Jeremy,

"Cool!" said Odd.

"You know Jeremy, we're going to have to test it out one day if we're going to take on Xana." said Yumi,

"I said quiet down!" came the voice of Mr. Delmas.

"MR. DELMAS SAID QUIET DOWN! THAT MEANS NOW!" shouted Jim,

"Thank you, Jim." said Mr. Delmas, clearing his throat.

"That's all right Mr. Delmas. Always glad to help." said Jim,

"Yes of course. In case you have forgotten let me remind you today is F.S.R.P. Day, which stands for Fire, Safety, Risk, and Prevention and so all afternoon classes have been cancelled."

Everyone in the cafeteria cheered.

"So as I was saying children, your classes are cancelled but part of this free time will be devoted to a complete building exercise program. This drill is to make absolutely certain that you are familiar with our security procedures." said Mr. Delmas.

The Lyoko Gang ignored Delmas.

"Yumi's right, you know, Jeremy. Every time we fought Xana he still got away. We need to find him and stop him." said William,

"They are right you know. We better make a test trial of the Skid just to see how it works." said Aelita.

"Yeah, but I don't know if we're ready." said Jeremy,

"We've got try it before Xana gets even more powerful." said William.

"Well, okay, we'll take advantage of the safety drill to get over to the computer lab." said Jeremy,

"Way to go, Jeremy!" said Aelita.

"Yeah, cool." said William,

"But listen up, this is only a trial run to work out the launch procedures." said Jeremy.

"Relax. We'll just dive and test it and come back." said Odd.

* * *

"As we all know, Lyoko is made up of five sectors. These sectors are actually located in some sort of giant hollow sphere. Imagine a kind of enormous bubble virtual bubble that is surrounded by some sort of liquid element. This liquid element is the information network." said Jeremy,

"And the Digital Sea?" asked Yumi.

"The Digital Sea is part of the network. It's kind of an overflow that accessible by this flood gate. Xana goes through this flood gate to attack us on Lyoko. And the Skid will use the very same flood gate to get us out." said Aelita,

"And once we're off Lyoko, what then?" asked William.

"Well, I expect you to be in some kind of immense network of tunnels. But I don't have enough data to tell you exactly what you'll find. It'll be a surprise. said Jeremy,

"That's fabulous. I love surprises. Well what are we waiting for? Let's get started." said Odd.

"Hang on, Odd!" said Jeremy,

"Don't bother. We'll work out as we go along. Nothing like a hands on experience" said Odd.

"But . . ."

"It's okay, Jeremy. I'll be right there with them." said Aelita following them into the elevator.

The elevator went down to the scanners as Jeremy started the sequence.

"Transfer William."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Transfer Yumi."

"Scanner William."

"Scanner Aelita."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Virtulization."

* * *

William, Aelita, and Yumi landed in the core arena and Sissy and Odd appeared a few minutes later.

_"Your elevator is waiting."_

The room stopped spinning and the door opened. The Lyoko Warriors ran to the elevator platform and watched as it slid down from the ceiling and stopped in front of them. They all stepped onto the elevator and watches as it takes them to the hangar. They looked to see the Skid being held by five support braces.

"Fantastic." said William,

"It's beautiful." said Yumi.

"Einstein. We made it to the Skid hangar. Now what do we do?" said Odd.

_"Each of you __get__ in a transporter spot."_

They did as they were told and waited.

"Well who's driving?" asked Odd,

"I am of course." said Aelita.

_"You guys ready? Energize."_

One by one they all vanished in a flash of light and reappeared in the Skid.

"Everything's in place and going according to plan." said Aelita.

She typed on the controls.

"Opening interface."

Three blue screens appeared in front of her.

"Comm Skid to Nav Skid, do you read me?" asked Aelita,

"Loud and clear Aelita." said Yumi.

"Loud and clear Aelita." said William,

"Me too. This is cool. It's like being in a spaceship." said Odd.

"Sorry, Sissy. The Skid can only support four pilots." said Aelita,

"No problem. I can wait." said Sissy.

"Be careful, Odd, this isn't like Galactic Invaders." said William

_"Get ready for lift off. __Releasing support."_

The Skid was released as Aelita took the controls.

"We have ignition. Powering vertical. For you, Daddy." whispered Aelita.

The Skid took off and Sissy watched in awe.

"Lift off!"

_"All indicators are you. You are clear to leave Sector 5." _

"Roger." said Aelita.

The Skid flew through an open tunnel and out of Sector 5. It plunged right into the Digital Sea.

* * *

Somewhere in the digital sea was a monolith with multiple chambers made of red bricks similar to the blue bricks of Sector 5. In a massive room was a throne on a platform serving as the center of the Eye of Xana beneath it. The throne was facing a window showing the Digital Network. A Kankrelat walked up to the throne and made clicking sounds.

**"So they finally got their little sub working, huh? Good. They must have found my Replica by now. Soon enough ****Aelita**** will be captured forcing Franz Hopper to give himself up."**

The throne turned around allowing the being to face his servants. Xana sat comfortably in the throne that was large and seemed to be made of human skulls and an interface rested on right arm of the chair.

**"The data I downloaded back in ****Lyoko**** has had sufficient time to grow and shape itself. All that left is to activate it to finish off the warriors. ****Come**** my servants. We are going to have some fun as we celebrate the coming victories!"**

Xana smirked as his monsters roared with confidence in their master. Xana's sword appeared in his hands as he pointed at the window and the sword released a blast of crimson lightning that traveled all the way to Lyoko. The lightning traveled into Lyoko and split into five smaller bolts as they traveled into the five sectors and a flash was seen where hit the ground.

**"I'll be sure to thank Jeremy for trusting ****me ****when I was playing the role of his deceased friend and comrade. That trust has now become his undoing!"**

* * *

Lord Maximus: I know all of you are reading this story are liking it so far but I have a few surprises that are ready so I am going to have skip the rest of this episode and a few more because to be frank it takes a lot of time to write down an entire episode especially the non action parts. So sorry if you were for some action here but it would pretty much be the same as on the show.

Sorry.


	12. Chapter 12

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Xana stood at the window that showed the digital network. A Blok walked up to him and bowed as it made clicking noises. Xana turned and looked at it. 

**"So the drones have downloaded their information? This is perfect. With the new base design and power source these new minions will be stronger than anything I ever created before. All that is left to make them grow!"**

Xana pulled out his sword and released crimson lightning that traveled through the Digital Network into Lyoko. In front of a tower in the Forest Sector crimson lightning hit the ground and in a flash of light appeared a grey ball made of a strange substance. Xana fired crimson lightning that traveled to all sectors and created something left where the lightning struck. Xana grinned as he set them up. He could feel his new minions growing.

**"Well now prepare our forces! It's time for a little trip to Lyoko!"**

* * *

On Xana's command a tower in the Ice Sector glowed red.

* * *

One of the scanners opened up and a long leg stepped out.

* * *

It was late at night when Jeremy was interrupted by the sound of the computer beeping showing an activated tower. He dialed the numbers of the Lyoko Warriors as he ran out to the factory. They all met up and ran to the factory where they gasped at what was waiting for them. A Tarantula stood casually waiting for them on the bridge. 

It roared and pointed its guns at them before firing on them. They all ran in different directions as it fired.

"Great! Xana's sure now pick the worst times!" complained Odd.

Yumi picked up a rock and tossed it at the Tarantula that managed to hit the face stunning it for a second. That was enough time for Odd to jump and land on the Tarantula's back. He covered its eyes as it roared and tried to shake the annoying boy off. It rammed into the railing of the bridge while Sissy grabbed a sharp piece of metal and plunged into the Eye of Xana.

It roared as its red eyes faded into black and collapsed into the water with a big splash. Jeremy ran into the factory lobby with the others close behind him as he pressed the elevator button and headed down to the lab.

"Head straight to the scanners. You're headed for the Ice Sector where the tower is being guarded by a bunch of Kankrelats." said Jeremy,

"No problem!" said Odd.

The scanners closed as Jeremy uploaded William, Odd, and Yumi onto Lyoko. Sissy and Aelita stepped into the scans next.

"Transfer Sissy."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Scanner Sissy."

"Scanner Aelita."

_"Jeremy, don't send them!"_

"Virtualization."

_"Jeremy, we got a problem!"_

"What do you mean, Odd?"

_"What Odd is trying to say is that we're not in the Ice Sector." _came Yumi's voice.

_"I'm in Sector 5."_ said William,

_"I made it to the Ice Sector."_ said Aelita.

_"I'm in the Mountain Sector."_ said Sissy,

"_I'm in the Forest Sector."_ said Odd.

_"And I'm in the Desert Sector."_ said Yumi.

"I'll check. Oh great! It looks like Xana interfered with the virtualization process and you all ended up where he wanted to go." said Jeremy.

* * *

"Well that's just great." said Odd. 

_"Odd, there is a monster near you that doesn't match anything I've seen before!"_

Odd looked around and saw no sign of any monster. Suddenly out of nowhere a fist flew out and rammed into his face sending him flying back. He looked up to see a humanoid creature that looked to be made of something less solid than human flesh. It's movements was wobbly making it unpredictably and its face was sculpted into its head with expressionless eyes and a mouth that did not move.

It wore chest armor with the Eye of Xana on the center of it.

"I found the new monster. I got to say it's more ugly than the Scyphozoa." said Odd.

He lunged at it firing arrows but the creature side stepped every attack and launched a kick that hit Odd in the ribs.

* * *

Yumi ran towards the Way Tower when a massive sword came down in front of her. She looked up and gasped to see a tall figure hit the ground with a massive clang. That was because it wore dark metal armor from head to toe. A long cape flowed at its back and its face was concealed by a strange helmet was seemed like a fusion of a knight's helmet and a jackal's head. 

Yumi pulled out her fans when she noticed the Eye of Xana on the chest and threw her weapons. The Knight raised its massive sword and swung with great speed, smashing one of the fans in one strike.

* * *

Sissy was just outside the Way Tower in the Mountain Sector when a massive roar was heard and she looked to see a massive ball of fire flying down at her. She looked up and gasped at what she saw in the sky. It was a serpent like dragon which stretched to the hight of a tower. It's face had crocodile like a snout with Asian like whiskers under its nose with dark red eyes that were nearly black. 

It had spines growing from its neck going down the length of its back stopping at the trunk of its tail. The Eye of Xana appeared on the forehead of the grey metallic dragon. The dragon roared and opened its massive maw and Sissy jumped as it unleashed as massive bolt of lightning. She flipped back and sling shotted her body using her webbing as she avoided getting hit by the electricity unleashed by the dragon's mouth.

She fired webbing but so far nothing worked against the dragon's metallic skin.

* * *

William ran through the corridors of Sector 5 as the elevator took him up to the outer platform as Jeremy prepared to send him a vehicle. Suddenly a katana landed in front of him causing him to stop. 

**"Leaving so soon? But we never had a chance to catch up!"**

Xana landed behind his katana and held it up. William jumped into the air with a battle cry as he raised his sword high and swung it down at his smirking enemy. A giant crack was made as Xana vanished and William's sword it the ground creating a miniature canyon. William looked up to see Xana holding his blade down with one foot and his other came up and kicked him in the face knocking him out of hole and into the blue wall.

William ran up to punch him but Xana blocked and punched William in the stomach. William went down on one knee and he looked up to Xana's taunting smirk. Suddenly a sound was heard and William looked to see the Scyphozoa behind him. Xana fired a black ball of smoke that hit William and entered his body.

The Scyphozoa grabbed him and started to drain his memories and implant some new data.

* * *

Odd fired an arrow that hit the new monster in the Eye of Xana causing it to explode. Odd sighed as he turned back to the tower when he heard a sound and looked to see the remains of the monster he just defeated grow back with three more taking its place. 

"Oh no." groaned Odd.

The creatures lunged at him and he flipped back firing arrows which the new monsters dodged.

"These are just like Putties except they grow back like the Marabounta." said Odd.

The first one ran at him and snapped its elbow back which hit Odd on the back of his head. The second one launched its knee into his stomach causing him to fall over and the one kick him over.

_"Odd, you are losing ten life points with each hit. You only have about sixty life points left."_

"You think this is easy? You should try this, Einstein." said Odd.

* * *

Yumi flipped back as the Knight swung its blade down at him again. She used her Telekineses to send rocks at the Knight but the armor was not even scratched. The Knight launched at him swinging the blade down. Yumi back flipped as the sword came down and hit the ground giving off a sonic boom. 

Yumi quickly threw her fan that sliced at the monster's hand getting it let go of its sword. However that did not stop the monster. It launched itself at Yumi and sent its fist down on her. She jumped and avoided a potential killing blow.

The ground shook as the Knight emerged from a small crater. Yumi looked to see lightning crackle in the Knight's fist before she was blasted back into the real world.

* * *

Sissy swung around on her webbing as she avoided another blast of lightning from the Dragon. It roared as it followed her from the sky above her. She had been chased through nearly the entire Mountain Sector with no sings of her pursuer giving up. The Dragon launched another bolt of lightning which she dodged by a few inches as it burned her outfit. 

She swung around a large mountain and swung her staff into cliff creating a rock slide that fell on the Dragon. However the Dragon fired another bolt of lightning that blasted through the works. It fired again which this time hit her and sent her back into the real world.

* * *

Odd fired another laser arrow but the clay like monsters kept coming back with three taking the place of the one he already destroyed. Soon enough his life points were down to zero forcing him back into the real world.

* * *

Aelita flew at the tower surprised that no monsters from a Kankrelat to Xana himself were attacking her. 

"This is too easy. This has got to be a trap." said Aelita.

Her question was answered when a black cloud of smoke appeared right in front of her. She looked in shock to see William in front of her, but his outfit changed. His outfit was completely black with Eye of Xana on his chest and his sword was even changed. Black vines sprung from the hilt with the Eye of Xana on it.

"William?" asked Aelita.

William swung his blade down in front her creating a shock wave that sent her flying back. She looked up to Xana standing on front of her.

**"Like the new William? I decided to upgrade my army again. This one had the same potential as the previous owner of this vessel. Now he's your escort into the Digital Sea. William!"**

William grabbed her and dragged her towards the edge.

"Not yet, Xana!" shouted Aelita.

She fired an Energy Field that hit herself in the chest and sent her back into the real world. William growled while Xana only sighed and smirked.

**"I should have seen it coming. Aw, well. Aelita won't escape next time. Especially with my new general and minions."**


	13. Chapter 13

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Odd sat down on his bed and looked sadly at the bed where the clone sat. Kiwi sat on his lap. In just a fourth week of fighting Xana after Lyoko had been recreated they had lost another warrior. Kiwi yelped and cuddled on his lap. Odd reached down and patted his pet's head. 

A knock was heard on the door. Kiwi barked and jumped off Odd's lap as the boy walked up to the door and opened it. Yumi was standing in the hall.

"Hey, Yumi?" asked Odd,

"Mind if I come in?" asked Yumi.

Odd nodded and stepped aside letting the black haired girl in. Already Jeremy had gone through the trouble of creating a clone of William so now they had to keep an eye on not only Ulrich's duplicate but now William.

"Is there something bothering you?" asked Odd,

"Well actually . . ." said Yumi.

She looked down with a sad expression. Odd looked on in concern. Yumi had not spoken a word in the last few days when she heard from Aelita of what happened to William. Now Xana had the body of Ulrich, new monsters, control of an unknown number supercomputers, and William as his puppet.

Jeremy and Aelita had been busy scanning the Internet and a way to materialize them at Xana's supercomputers to destroy the Replicas. So far it seemed that Xana was about to give them a break.

"Yeah what is it?" asked Odd,

"Odd, I have been thinking over the last few days and I have been coming to conclusion. It's all my fault!" shouted Yumi.

"What?!"

Kiwi yelped and ran under the table. Odd looked at her with wide eyes.

"I fell into the Digital Sea, I was always the one who Xana targeted, I failed to devirtualize Ulrich's body when Xana possessed it, and I was the one who suggested we bring William into the group. And look what happened! He get's possessed and now's he's a puppet just like Ulrich's body!"

Yumi's eyes welled up with tears which slid down her cheeks as she covered her face with her hands. Odd walked over to Ulrich's bed where the black haired girl sat and put an arm around her.

"Now I know your going nuts. You think any of us would blame you? We all tried to help Ulrich but failed. You think you're the only feeling guilty.

The guy was my best friend but I know neither Ulrich or William would blame you for what happened." said Odd.

Yumi looked up from her tear stained hands.

"You have nothing to blame yourself with. We still have a chance to save William. But we get do it without you, Yumi." said Odd.

Yumi sighed and nodded. She looked down.

"Come on. Let's head to Jeremy's dorm. He's working on a way to bring back William." said Odd.

Yumi nodded and they stood up and walked out the door. They walked into Jeremy's dorm and saw the clones of Ulrich and William sitting on the bed with Jeremy and Aelita sitting at the computer. Sissy was leaning against the wall watching the two geniuses work.

"Hey, guys." said Jeremy,

"What's going on, Jeremy?" asked Odd.

"We have been scanning the Digital Network for any sign of William but so far nothing. We are also discovered Xana created his new monsters by calling upon the power of unknown number of supercomputers he had under his control. The Dragon and the Knight's life points are twice the amount of life points of a Tarantula while the Putties as Odd calls them only have ten life points. It seems Xana hacked into the supercomputer and was able to combine the designs for the Marabounta with the design for his new monster." said Jeremy.

"Is there any way to stop them?" asked Aelita,

"Yes. Just like how we defeated the Marabounta we can just upload Odd's arrows with a virus but like with the Marabounta we need to target the one that was created first." said Jeremy.

"No problem. Just upload my arrows and send me into Lyoko. I'll take care of those Putty rip offs in no time. " said Odd,

"Let's not forget that we need to be on high alert. With these new monsters Xana will have plenty of surprises for us." said Jeremy.

* * *

XANA's Lair. 

Xana stood at the massive circular window that showed the Digital Network as he turned.

**"Well isn't that touching. They are actually going to try to be careful when facing my new monsters. However that will not save them. I think it's time to kick it up a notch.**

Xana looked at the gathered monsters as William bowed down in front of him. The monsters bowed behind the brain washed boy at their master.

**"Rise my minions! Prepare yourselves for the world shall feel our wrath! **

Xana looked out at the window and turned back. He sat down on his throne and pulled out his sword.

**"Our past attacks have served but failure. Now it's time to grow a winner."**

Xana pointed his sword out into the Digital Network and unleashed crimson lightning that traveled into Lyoko. A tower glowed red in the Forest Sector.

* * *

A specter came our of a socket and slithered into a tree. It started to envelop the tree growing in size until the entire tree was covered. Once it was covered the tree absorbed the black ooze and suddenly something happened. Electricity blasted from the tree as it shrunk down to roughly human size and its wooden body started to pulse. 

Branches fused to from arms and legs and wood like armor covered the figure that seemed to a manifestation of the evil that was contained within. A face was sculpted onto the head with expressionless eyes and a mouth that did not move. The Eye of Xana appeared where the eyes where as it took its first step and jumped onto the roof of Kadic Academy.

* * *

A sudden beeping sound caught there attention. 

"Activated tower in the Forest Sector." said Aelita,

"Just in time for me to test out a special program. I have been working on it to free William and it's no time like the present to test it out." said Jeremy.

"Let's hurry." said Sissy.

Suddenly the window in Jeremy's room was smashed and everyone looked to see a tall green like figure wearing wood like armor with Eye of Xana in where the eyes would be. It looked at its prey before pulling what looked like a bow and pointed it at them. An arrow made of lightning flashed to existence before the creature fired it. They all ducked as the arrow flew out of the room and hit the wall creating an explosion that rocked the entire school.

"What going on here!" shouted Jim.

He ran into see the Xana's new puppet and gasped. The creature ran up to him and slammed its fist into the gym teacher's stomach. He was knocked out instantly. The creature turned to the Lyoko Warriors to find them gone.

It took off in pursuit of its prey and plunged itself into the ground. Instantly its body turned into vines and spread into the ground. As it traveled under the ground it found its enemies in the forest just at the sewer hole. It sprouted from the ground and grabbed Yumi.

"Yumi!" shouted everyone,

"Go! Get to the tower! I'll be fine!" shouted Yumi.

They all reluctantly went down the sewer hole as the monster transformed into a gigantic tree. Vines started to wrap around Yumi's body and one covered her mouth to keep her from calling out for help. The monster now in the shape of a tree then sent vines through the ground and soon enough the entire city was being enveloped the entire city in vines.

People screamed as vines ripped put of the ground and attacked. Yumi looked to see vines spreading into the city. The kids at Kadic Academy ran out screaming but a certain black haired boy ran into the forest and saw a gigantic tree toss a certain black haired girl onto the ground.

"Yumi!"

Yumi looked up to see her little brother, Hiroki looking down at her very scared.

"Hiroki?"

Hiroki turned Yumi over on her back to get a good look at her. Her face had cuts and bruises while her clothes were slightly torn. Yumi got up but her leg was pretty cut up as blood emerged from the left leg. Hiroki put her arm over his shoulders as she pointed at the sewer hole.

Yumi climbed down first with Hiroki close by and he put her arm over his shoulder as he helped his older sister walk. She climbed up a ladder with Hiroki following and she waited for him on the bridge on the factory.

"Where are we, Yumi?" asked Hiroki,

"The one place that can help us."

Yumi walked into the factory with Hiroki's help and slid down the rope. There was an elevator that Yumi called up by pushing a red button. The door opened and led them down to the lab.

"Wow!"

Jeremy looked up to see Hiroki helping Yumi walk in.

"This is so cool!"

"Jeremy, how are things going on Lyoko?"

"It's bad. The tower is bing protected by twelve Crabs, three Megatanks, three Tarantulas, and twelve Bloks. If it isn't bad enough William has showed up." said Jeremy,

"Yumi, what's going on?" asked Hiroki.

Yumi ignored him and walked over to the screen.

"Get the scanners ready, Jeremy." said Yumi,

"Have you taken a good look at yourself? You can't go to Lyoko in that condition." said Jeremy.

"But then Aelita will be captured and the city will be destroyed." said Yumi,

"I know and we're doing everything we can." said Jeremy.

"If I can't go than who will help them?" asked Yumi,

"Um, excuse me?" asked an innocent voice.

They turned to see Hiroki who was feeling out of place.

"I don't know what's going on here but if it has something to do with that giant tree than if Yumi can't help than I can help." said Hiroki,

"No. You can't. We already brought several others in when . . ." said Yumi.

She stopped and looked down.

"We have no choice, Yumi." said Jeremy.

"Okay." said Yumi reluctantly.

"Hiroki, head down the elevator one level and you'll three scanners and step into one. We'll explain on the way."said Jeremy.

Hiroki nodded and walked into the elevator and did as Jeremy told him. The elevator door opened up and Hiroki walked inside looking at the scanners. He stepped into one and he heard Jeremy's voice over the intercom.

_"Transfer Hiroki."_

_"Scanner Hiroki."_

_"Virtualization!"_

* * *

Hiroki landed on his butt in the Forest Sector with loud 'OW!'. He looked around to see the forest around him as he took it in with awe and wonder. He looked down at himself and noticed a black unzipped jacket with a black sleeves shirt and dark green cargo pants. On his feet were a pair of black sandals while he wore black fingerless gloves and some bandages wrapped around his legs. 

"Wow! Where am I?" asked Hiroki.

_"It's called Lyoko. A virtual universe inside a supercomputer. It's kind of like a game but we have a problem."_

"What's that?"

_"A dangerous super program called Xana is using Lyoko to attack the real world. That giant tree monster attacking city right now is the work of Xana. The only way to stop Xana is by going to Lyoko to shut down the tower he's using. Our friend Aelita is the only who can do that so Xana sends out his monsters to stop her._

_It's our job to help as best we can."_

"I get it. So where's the tower?"

_"North by north west. Be careful, Hiroki. It may seem like a game but it's also dangerous."_

"Got it but what do I do if one of these monsters find me?"

_"We are all given special powers and weapons when we come to Lyoko. I don't know what you got but you'll have to figure it out on your own."_

"Okay."

With that Hiroki ran towards the tower.

* * *

Odd back flipped and fired his arrow which hit a Blok causing it to explode. Aelita flew through the air with her angel like wings avoiding lasers from the Tarantulas and Sissy sling shotted herself around on her webbing as she plunged her staff into a Megatank destroying it. So far nearly all the Bloks were gone which just left two Crabs, one Megatank, and two Tarantulas. 

Aelita landed in front of the tower and prepared to travel up to the upper platform when William appeared and kicked her out of the tower. He walked out of the tower smiling evilly as his giant cleaver sword appeared in his hand and pointed it at her.

"Energy Field!"

She fired at him but he raised his sword and blocked the attack and fired it right back at her. She was sent flying over to edge and almost fell. She grabbed the ledge and held on for her life. William smirked as the remaining monsters circled around the edge where Aelita was hanging firing at the remaining warriors as he prepared to knock Aelita into the Digital Sea.

"Get away from her! Fire Ball!" shouted a voice.

William looked to see a ball of fire hit him in the chest which sent him flying back. The monsters and the Lyoko Warriors turned and saw Hiroki running up to them. He pulled out a rod.

"Flare!"

The rod was enveloped in flames and turned into a fire sword as he charged and threw the sword which pierced the Eye on a Crab causing it to explode. Odd fired a Laser Arrow which hit the last Crab and destroyed while Sissy sling shotted down and hit the last Megatank. The only enemies left where William and the last two Tarantulas. The possessed boy growled as another Lyoko Warrior to help them.

"Fire!" shouted William.

The Tarantulas took aim and fired.

"Flame Shield!" shouted Hiroki.

Instantly Hiroki was protected by a dome made of flames that blocked the lasers. Aelita pulled herself up and pointed her hands at the last two monsters.

"Energy Field!"

The last two monsters were destroyed leaving only William left. He growled at them as they surrounded him.

"Super Smoke!"

His body vanished into a cloud of black smoke that fell into the Digital Sea. Odd turned and smiled down at Hiroki.

"Thanks for the help, squirt. How do you like your first trip to Lyoko?" asked Odd,

"Awesome! I can't believe you guys and Yumi have been doing this thing." said Hiroki.

"Like anyone would believe us." said Sissy.

Aelita walked into the tower and flew to the upper platform. The interface appeared in front of her after landing on the upper platform. She placed her hand on it.

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

All the data fell to the dark abyss.

"Tower Deactivated." said Aelita.

_"Return to the Past Now!"_

* * *

Xana slammed his fist down as William bowed down in apology from his latest failure. 

**"So they added yet another warrior to their ranks? It was much sooner than I thought. No matter how strong they are, no matter whether they have five or thousands they will fail when they see what I have in store! It will take years for them to destroy all of my Replicas!**

**And even if they do I will always have a back up plan. I will be back Lyoko Warriors!"**

Outside the monolith the Digital Network turned from calm blue to blood red.


	14. Chapter 14

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Xana paced in his throne room. He was alone with no monsters and no William in the room. He spent some of his time looking out towards the Digital Network. It was truly a fascinating world. 

Strangely beautiful and yet it is what gives him powers that he never had while trapped in the supercomputer. He closed his eyes and listened. His eyes showed him all of his Replicas, his vision traveled through the Digital Network, it went into Lyoko showing him the calm and quiet sectors. A knock on the door disturbed him and his vision was lost.

He opened his eyes and looked with annoyance as a Kankrelat entered and bowed.

_"Master Xana."_

**"What is it? I gave orders not to be disturbed."**

_"A thousand pardons, Master, but a re-con patrol just returned bearing strange news."_

**"What kind of strange news?"**

_"A strange parallel bubble has been spotted in the Ice Sector."_

Xana closed his eyes and concentrated on the Ice Sector. His eye traveled to Lyoko and saw the strange bubble. It was similar to what he used when he trapped Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich in three years ago.

**"That was not created by me. William!"**

William appeared out of a black ball of smoke in front of Xana and bowed.

Yes, Master Xana?" asked William.

**Assemble a large group of monsters and meet me in the Ice Sector of Lyoko. We're going hunting."**

"Yes, Master." said William.

He disappeared in a black ball of smoke and vanished. Xana turned back looked out the window.

**"I know you're there . . . Franz Hopper!"**

The Digital Network glowed blood red once again.

* * *

Jeremy sat in the lab with everyone sitting close by while Yumi told Hiroki about the last three years of fighting Xana and what happened to Ulrich and William. 

"Whoa! So Ulrich's body and William are being controlled by some deranged super virus that's trying to take over the world?" asked Hiroki,

"That's pretty much it." said Yumi.

"So what's's going on now?" asked Hiroki,

"Right now Jeremy is designing a training area in Sector 5 for you, Hiroki. If'you're going to help out we need to make sure you get some experience in Lyoko. Last time we sent a rookie without any help was a big mistake." said Yumi.

"Cool! So who's going to train me?" asked Hiroki,

"All of us. There are different ways of fighting on Lyoko. You have a weapon, a special ability, and a power. Every Lyoko Warrior has a specific power that is developed by his or her mind and subconscious. That includes Odd's cat like reflexes, Ulrich triplication and super sprint, Sissy's webbing abilities and ninja skills, my telekineses and gymnastics, and your fire powers." said Yumi.

"The only way to discover these abilities is by being put in combat situations." said Jeremy,

"We all discovered ours along the way when we fought Xana's monsters." said Aelita.

"Right now we're going to make sure we don't send an inexperience rookie on to Lyoko for Xana to possess like he did with William. Which is why Jeremy is working on an training area in Sector 5. The heat of the battle will force you into tapping into your powers and make you more ready when Xana launches another attack." said Odd,

"You were a big help but Xana was only caught off guard because he wasn't expecting another Lyoko Warrior so soon. He won't make that mistake again." said Sissy.

"So what are we waiting for? I want to see what I can do!" said Hiroki, pumping his fist.

Yumi smiled and ruffled her little brother's hair. They all walked to the elevator and headed down to the scanner room. The door opened and they all walked out into the room. Hiroki, Yumi, and Sissy entered the scanners while Odd and Sissy stood waiting.

_"Transfer Hiroki."_

_"Transfer Yumi."_

_"Transfer Sissy."_

_"Scanner Hiroki."_

_"Scanner Yumi."_

_"Scanner Sissy."_

_"Virtualization."_

* * *

Hiroki and Yumi appeared in a room made of blue bricks and Hiroki looked around in awe. He looked to his older sister smiling with his arms crossed. Odd, Aelita, and Sissy walked into the room. 

"So what kind of training are we doing first?" asked Hiroki,

"Odd will go first. He can teach you to fight." said Yumi.

Odd stepped forward and smiled mischievously. Hiroki jumped back as Odd pointed his arm at him.

"Laser Arrow!"

Hiroki jumped back avoiding the small golden streak through the air and pointed his hand at Odd.

"Fire Ball!"

But no fire came out.

_"Sorry, Hiroki. This is a test of weapons not abilities. You need to learn how to use your weapon without your powers."_

Hiroki pulled out his rod to find it change into a sword. Hiroki yelled and charged at Odd. The cat like boy fired several Laser Arrows while Hiroki jumped out of the way and swung his blade. Odd moved his head out of the way and sent his foot forward.

Hiroki jumped over the foot and swung his blade at Odd's head again. Odd ducked and tossed the boy over his shoulder. Hiroki quickly flipped through the air and landed on his feet and jumped back at Odd. He sent a kick which Odd blocked with an open palm and sent a fist which Hiroki ducked under and swung his blade again.

Hiroki was small and fast which gave him a small advantage while Odd had cat like reflexes that allowed him dodge the younger boy's attacks. It was after a few minutes that Hiroki got better with his attacks as he got more agile and his strikes were more precise and well planned.

"Okay. That's enough." said Yumi, clapping her hands.

Odd and Hiroki stopped with a groan. They were having so much fun. Odd walked up while making a mocking pout.

"It's time to begin the second part of the training. Now we're going to train you to control your abilities on Lyoko." said Yumi.

After she finished Jeremy typed away and a tower in the Mountain Sector glowed green. Ten Kenkrelats materialized around Hiroki.

"Jeremy has activated a tower to create and control these monsters. You must tap into you abilities while fighting these monsters and avoid the attacks." said Yumi.

The first Kankrelat charged its laser and fired. Hiroki was soon jumping and avoiding lasers from the monsters. Even though it took a Kankrelat a few seconds to charge its laser it was easy when there was one done charging before it while attacking. Hiroki pulled out his short sword and ran at the nearest Kankrelat.

"Flare!"

His short sized sword instantly turned into a blazing fiery katana as he sliced through the monster. It exploded in sparks. The other Kankrelats aimed their lasers at the boy and fired.

"Flame Shield!"

A dome of fire appeared around Hiroki and blocked the lasers. He dropped the shield and pointed his hand at the monster.

"Fire Ball!"

As he said it a ball of fire erupted from his hand and hit another monster blasting it into pieces of data. He jumped as the last three Kankrelats charged their lasers and fired. Hiroki pointed his hands at them.

"Fire Ball!"

He fired three more ball of fire that hit the Kankrelats and destroyed them.

_"Wave one defeated. Wave two commencing."_

The floor in the middle of the room deepened and revealed a large pit. On the other side of the pit a door opened up and revealed three Tarantulas. They sat down and pointed their guns at the rookie warrior.

"Uh oh."

The Tarantulas roared and fired.

"Flame Shield!"

Hiroki was one again under a dome of fire as it blocked an endless barrage of lasers. He pointed his hands at the ceiling.

"Flame Rain!"

Fire balls shot out of the ceiling and began falling down on the Tarantulas. The monsters looked and moved to dodge however two of them were hit in the Eye and exploded into sparks of data. The last Tarantula roared and prepared to fire when Hiroki beat it by using another Fire Ball.

"Congratulations, Hiroki!"

Hiroki looked up to see his older sister smiling down at him. He smiled back at her,

"There is now one last test for you." said Yumi,

"What's that?" asked Hiroki.

"Simple. You have to use both your weapons and abilities against me." said Yumi, pulling out her fans.

Hiroki smiled and pulled out his small sword. Yumi threw her fans which Hiroki dodged and jumped at her.

"Flare!"

His small sword turned into a long katana but Yumi flipped over his attack and landed behind him. She caught her fans and threw them which knocked Hiroki's sword out of his hand. She caught her fans and prepared to throw them again.

"Fire Ball!"

Yumi quickly back flipped over the attack and launched her fans again.

"Flame Shield!"

Hiroki was protected by a dome of fire which blocked the fans. However Yumi used her telekineses to retrieve her fans and they landed back in her hands.

_"Sorry to interrupt everyone but we have a situation."_

"Xana?" asked Odd.

_"Maybe. There's something in the Ice Sector but I can't identify it yet. It looks like the same bubble which Xana trapped Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich in an alternate reality three years ago."_

"Why would Xana create that again?" asked Odd.

_"Like I said Odd I don't know if it's really Xana doing this. All I know for sure is that a large number of monsters are heading for it. Xana and William are leading these monsters."_

"What should we do?" asked Aelita.

_"Stop the training for now and get to the Ice Sector. If Xana tries to destroy the bubble than protect it until we can figure out what is going on."_

* * *

Xana and William lead an army of Crabs, Tarantulas, Putties, and Hornets and Mantas flew through the air.

**"Surround the bubble! Make sure no one gets even close to it. If I am right about who created than victory is ours!"**

Xana laughed as his monsters and William carried out his orders.


	15. Chapter 15

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Within a gigantic white bubble was a complete replica of the factory where the lab and supercomputer that held Lyoko resided. A man dressed in a white coat with a grey beard typed away at the computer as he worked hard and fast. The monitor showed red dots appearing outside the white bubble. He sighed and looked at the corner of the room. In the corner of the room was a make shift bed on which a brown haired boy was sleeping.

For the last few months or at least they would be months will the trips to the past the boy had been sleeping soundly.

"It seems that our time here is nearly over, Ulrich. With Xana now knowing we're here it's time for your friends to have you back. I would like to thank you for helping my daughter. You and the rest have been strong and loyal for her and hope you will always be there for her.

These new programs will help you against Xana but it will take more than just a few upgrades to defeat him. You all must be together if you wish to defeat Xana. I hope you will all be successful." said the old man.

**

* * *

"Surround it! Make sure nothing get's close to the bubble! I trust you all know what happens if you fail! You will not get a second chance!"**

Xana watched as his monsters surrounded the white bubble. He would not let anyone get in his way this time. Two Crabs stood beside him as two fans suddenly flew in and sliced into the Eye causing them to explode. Xana jumped back as he watched the Lyoko Warriors land their vehicles and pull out their weapons.

Xana growled softly.

**"I'm not exactly in the mood but while I am destroying that bubble and the senile old goat inside and I can get rid of you all as a bonus."**

Xana pulled out his sword and two Tarantulas walked up behind him and aimed their guns at the Lyoko Warriors.

"Flame Shield!"

Hiroki produced a dome of fire and blocked the lasers. Sissy sling shotted herself with her webbing towards the dome. However a blast of energy hit the web sending her falling to the ground. William appeared out of a ball of smoke holding his gigantic blade.

Odd fired his arrows which sent William back a few feet as he landed in front of Sissy placing himself between her and possessed boy.

"Flame Rain!"

Balls of fire fell from the sky and on top of hundreds of Hornets that hovered above the bubble.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Hiroki looked to see a crimson blur coming at him. Yumi placed herself in front of her brother and blocked Xana's blade with her hands.

"You took Ulrich and William! You're not taking my brother!" shouted the black haired girl.

She pushed Xana back and swung her fans down on him and sent out her feet to kick him. Xana dodged her fans blocked her kicks with one arm and his blade. Hiroki pulled out his short sized sword.

"Flare!"

It turned into a blazing katana made of fire and jumped at Xana. The demonic AI jumped and dodged their attacks.

**"Super Shadow!"**

Xana's shadow stretched out from under him and black tentacles made from smoke appeared and grabbed the Ishiyama siblings and tossed them into the icy wall. Xana smirked and looked back at the fight between William, Odd, and Sissy. Odd fired several arrows that William blocked and Sissy fired webbing at him.

"Super Smoke!"

William vanished a black cloud that moved as fast Ulrich's Super Sprint and appeared behind both of them. They looked to see William punch them both and Putties appeared and grabbed them.

"Let us go!" shouted Odd.

The Ishiyama got up and Putties surrounded them and grabbed them before they could attack. They knocked away their weapons and held them down.

"Yumi!" shouted Hiroki,

"Hang on, Hiroki!" Yumi shouted back.

Xana smirked as he watched the captured warriors struggle with futile effort. He then noticed Aelita was missing and saw her flying towards the white dome of energy. However Xana was not angry. In fact he smiled evilly as a certain jelly fish like monster appeared right in front of her.

Aelita saw the Scyphozoa hovering in front of and let out a scream. Before she could move it wrapped her in its deadly embrace and put its tentacles right in front of her forehead.

_"NO!"_

Jeremy watched in horror along with his friends on Lyoko. It dropped Aelita and the pink haired girl stood up. She opened her eyes to reveal they had been replaced by the twins Eyes of Xana. She smirked evilly and walked up to Xana and bowed.

**"Excellent! The Warriors captured, ****Aelita**** under my control again, now all that is left is to pay one old man a visit."**

Xana smirked and walked towards the bubble.

"Incinerate!"

Hiroki unleashed a gigantic stream of fire that fried the Putties surrounding them. Yumi stood up and ran towards Xana who was only a few feet away from entering the energy sphere. Aelita and William fired energy fields and waves at her but she dodged everyone and jumped over Xana and ran into the sphere.

* * *

Yumi looked around to find herself back in the factory wearing her Earth clothes. She walked towards the elevator and pushed the red button. The door opened and she entered it. She waited as it traveled down to the lab and looked inside after it opened. There sitting at the chair was someone she did not expect.

"Franz Hopper?"

The man looked at her and smiled warmly.

"Ah, Yumi. I was hoping it was either you or Aelita who would find me here. I must say you all have done a very good job in the fight against Xana." said Franz,

"So this parallel world . . . It's yours isn't it? But why?" asked Yumi.

"Yumi, I am here because it is my responsibility to not only help my daughter but you as well. I was hoping we would be safe a little longer but I should know by now how cautious Xana is when it comes to hunting me down." said Franz,

"We?" asked Yumi.

"Look over to that corner." said Franz, pointing towards a corner of the room.

Yumi looked over to see a make shift bed where a brown haired boy slept peacefully. Her eyes widened and a gasp escaped her without even knowing it. She slowly walked towards the bed and sat down.

"Ulrich?"

"He's safe. I brought him here and kept him safe while Xana thought he was dead." said Franz, comfortably.

Tears flowed down Yumi's cheeks as she brushed them off. Right now she didn't care what was happening on Lyoko or that Xana was about to enter the dome. Ulrich was alive! She cupped the boy's cheek lightly in her hand as she cried in happiness.

**"Aw, what a sight?"**

Yumi looked up to see Xana in Ulrich's body standing in the elevator casually with a smirk. Franz stood up and placed himself between the two children and the evil AI.

"Xana." said Franz.

**"So this is the dump you've been hiding in, Franz? I'm a little disappointed that you did not try to protect yourself. Not caring about the look on little ****Aelita's**** face if she found out you were easily killed?"**

"What happens to me today does not matter anymore. I have already finished my work and in the end these kids behind me will ensure your defeat, Xana." said Franz.

**"Not if they're finished here and now. All that it will take is a few seconds which is all you have left!"**

Xana and Franz lunged at each other and pressed their hands against each other trying to push the other into submission. Yumi cradled the sleeping Ulrich close to her as she looked on in horror. No matter what happened she would protect the boy she was holding with her life.

"Yumi! Take Ulrich down to the scanners! There isn't much time left!"

**"You're already out of time, Franz!"**

Xana kicked Franz in the chest and sent the old man flying back. Yumi looked at the old man and nodded. However Xana stood in front of them smiling evilly.

* * *

Happy New Years everyone! 


	16. Chapter 16

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Yumi continued to hold Ulrich close to her as Xana stepped towards her. She glared up as Xana held a taunting evil smirk on his face. 

**"To be or not to be, that is the question, Yumi. So what are you going to do now?"**

Yumi only held Ulrich closer to her. She was not about to let Xana kill Ulrich again. Not ever again. Xana raised his and it sparked with purple electricity and pointed it in front of him down to Yumi and the boy she was holding.

**"Sayonara, Yumi Ishiyama."**

Before Xana could fire Franz Hopper got up and lunged at Xana from behind.

"Yumi, get Ulrich to the scanners! You must hurry!" shouted Franz.

**"Get off you old goat!"**

Xana kicked Franz off him and blasted him with electricity. He got up to see Yumi carrying Ulrich over to the ladder. He fired electricity which sent Yumi flying and Ulrich hit the floor. Yumi looked up in horror as Xana smirked and walked over to the sleeping boy.

**"It seems I underestimated you, Ulrich. I won't make that mistake again."**

Xana raised his hand and prepared to blast Ulrich when he was blasted from behind. He glared back with his symbol pulsing in his eyes to see Franz Hopper panting and his hands glowing. Franz fired again but Xana knocked the energy blast away.

"You're not winning today, Xana." said Franz.

**"That's saying a lot since you're the one panting. Your energy is low from creating this entire bubble while my power is still fresh. You have just wasted a few seconds of my time and for what the destruction of yourself and your allies."**

Xana blasted Franz which sent him flying into the wall. He turned over to Ulrich and raised his hand again before preparing to blast what was left of the brown haired boy.

"NO!"

Xana looked to see Yumi lunge at him and knock him down. He blasted Yumi off him and stood up. The black haired girl got up and crawled over to the sleeping Ulrich. She reached and grasped the sleeping boy's hand. Xana's shadow fell over both of them and she looked up.

**"This was all too easy."**

"Allow me to provide you with a challenge, Xana!" shouted a voice.

Franz stood up and pointed his finger at Xana. The demonic AI rolled his eyes and pointed his hand at Franz. Franz fired a beam of light while Xana fired a huge spiral blast of crimson energy that collided with Franz's attack. It was a battle of wills as both beings struggled to push each other back.

Franz fell to his knees as Xana's attack started to overpower him.

"Yumi! Hurry to the scanners! If the bubble explodes without Ulrich in the scanners than he will die when the bubble fades!"

Yumi nodded and slowly got up. She picked up Ulrich and held him over his shoulders as he limped over to the ladder. Franz grunted as Xana's energy attack started to push through his own attack. All of the images around them started become distorted and fuzzy.

Yumi managed to get down to the scanner room as she noticed all of the distortions. She walked over the scanner carrying Ulrich while ignoring her blazing cheeks. She watched the scanner close around the sleeping boy.

Xana laughed as Franz's energy attack faded. However as Franz's body faded into deletion he looked up and smiled.

"Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Jeremy I know you will succeed. I have faith in you all and I am proud of you . . . Aelita." said Franz.

**"Victory!"**

Xana laughed as his creator faded from existence. Never to be seen again. He looked around and noticed the bubble fading. Outside the bubble everyone noticed it crack and explode. Xana emerged in his Lyoko form looking victorious.

Odd, Sissy, and Hiroki looked on in horror while Aelita and William bowed before their master. Xana smirked but everyone looked to see a golden light in the center where the bubble faded. He looked on with puzzlement as there was a orb of golden light. Yumi was down on the ground panting as she looked up at the golden light.

She sat up on her knees and looked up in awe and wonder.

"Ulrich?" asked Yumi.

The orb exploded into a blast of light and a figure appeared out of the light. Ulrich stood there while wearing a black kimono and black hakama, with a white under shirt and sash. Around his waist strapped were two katana's that were three feet long. His head band remained untouched while he wore a long flowing golden sleeveless jacket that fell to the knees at the back.

He actually looked a little taller and more handsome in Yumi's mind. Xana's eyes widened and then glared.

**"So that's what Franz was working on in that bubble? It doesn't matter now. The old man is gone for good."**

"Don't think the battle is over yet, Xana." said Ulrich.

He pulled out his twin katanas and held them out.

"Super Flash!"

Xana's eyes widened as the newly revived warrior vanished and he looked back to see his minions slashed in half. Hiroki, Odd, and Sissy were suddenly picked and dropped beside Yumi as Ulrich reappeared in front of them. Xana turned and glared hatefully.

**"Why you . . ."**

Ulrich calmly held his swords at his side in a relaxed position. Aelita and William prepared to attack but Xana held out his arm and stopped them.

**"He's mine."**


	17. Chapter 17

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Ulrich stared calmly as Xana silently fumed while calming himself down. 

"Ulrich?" asked a voice.

Ulrich turned back to see Yumi with a timid look on her face.

"Is it really you?" asked Yumi.

Ulrich smiled at her.

"Yes and it's thanks to you, Yumi. If you hadn't got me to the scanners in time than I wouldn't have been able to exist out here." said Ulrich, happily.

Suddenly Ulrich found himself getting nearly knocked off his feet as Yumi tackled him wrapping her arms around him as she held him close and buried her face in his shoulder. She didn't care that there was still a fight to win. All that she wanted right now was Ulrich with her. Ulrich smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around her.

"Yumi I want to show my appreciation to all of you for helping me." said Ulrich.

Yumi got a puzzled look on her face as she let go and Ulrich stepped back and turned to face Xana. The demonic AI glared at the newly revived warrior and pulled out his red sword.

**"So that's the way you want it, huh, Ulrich?"**

Ulrich stared right at the digital fiend that had taken his real body.

"Super Flash!"

Xana's eyes widened as Ulrich disappeared and reappeared behind Aelita. Xana turned back only to see Ulrich's blurring image as he grapped Aelita and dropped her next to Yumi. He held out his sword and blasted her with a blue ray that caused her to close her eyes and open them showing her gentle green eyes instead of the black eyes of Xana. Aelita looked around and noticed the figure in front of her.

"Ulrich?"

"Hey there, Princess. Your dad said hi." said Ulrich, smiling down at her.

**"Why you . . ."**

Ulrich turned back to see Xana glaring darkly at him with rage building in those red eyes.

"Everyone, wait here. It's time you guys took a break." said Ulrich,

"W-Wait up, Ulrich! You're not planning on fighting that alone are you . . ." started Odd.

Ulrich only smiled back and pulled out his swords.

"Don't worry, guys, this won't take long." was all he said.

He turned back to his opponent and held his swords out in battle position.

"Super Flash!"

Xana held out his sword in defense as he saw the gold streak come at him like a flash of light. Xana's eyes widened as he felt something slice him and he looked down to see a slash sparking across his torso. This can't be! Ulrich moved so fast Xana could not even set himself up for defense.

**"Wha . . . "**

Xana caught a glimpse of Ulrich and swung his blade at him. Ulrich blocked with one sword and jumped in front of Xana. Flipping through the air he locked both of his feet around Xana's neck and twirled his body launching the demonic AI through the air and sliding on his back across the icy surface. Xana flipped back onto his feet and pointed his sword in front of him at Ulrich.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

A massive spiral of crimson electricity blasted from Xana's sword and flew at Ulrich.

"Ulrich! Get of there!" shouted Yumi.

Ulrich only stared ahead calmly as the blast came close. He placed both of his swords in front of him in an X position and stopped the energy wave in front of him. Xana's eyes widened as his attack was stopped by two simple katanas. Ulrich's figure glowed blue and his swords glowed even brighter.

"Reflector Blast!" shouted Ulrich.

Suddenly Xana's energy blast changed color from blood red to soft blue as Ulrich's swords absorbed the energy attack. The energy flew into Ulrich's swords and with each passing second they glowed even brighter. Xana would be visibly sweating now if they were in the real world right now.

**"Oh cra . . ."**

He never got to finish as Ulrich's swords absorbed the energy wave and fired it right back at Xana with it looking twice as large and powerful. Xana looked on with wide eyes as a blast of light came right at him. He never even got the chance to blink as he was engulfed in a explosion that shook all of Lyoko and a wind that should never have excisted blew through everyone's hair. Overwhelming!

Ulrich overpowered Xana!

"Master!" shouted William.

He ran towards the debris as everyone looked towards Ulrich in shock and awe. Ulrich looked to see William running into the dust covered area and looked back to see everyone looking at him.

"Ulrich . . ." whispered Yumi.

Ulrich turned and looked back at everyone. He smiled as he noticed the new recruits.

"Did something happen while I was gone . . . Oof!"

He was tackled by Aelita and Yumi as they ran up and hugged him hard. He would have blushed when he noticed Yumi was hugging harder than Aelita since he was virtual.

"You didn't think I would just leave did you?" asked Ulrich.

Yumi and Aelita giggled and pulled back.

"Of course not. I knew you would be too dimwitted to die." said Yumi,

"Ouch. Yumi, I just got back and already you hurting me. Oh please, Yumi, please forgive me!" said Ulrich, getting on his knees before her with pleading look.

Everyone laughed at the show he was putting on. Odd lightly punched him in the cheek.

"Don't do that again! I knew you were alive the whole time I was just being supportive for everyone else and remained cool." said Odd, puffing out his chest.

"Yeah, I believe you, Odd." said Ulrich,

"Good to have you back, man." said Odd, smiling.

**"You idiot!"**

Everyone looked back to see William flying out of the debris and slammed into an icy wall. Xana walked out of the dust with only a few burns on his armor.

**"I told you to stay out of the fight!"**

"My deepest aplogies, Master Xana." said William getting back up.

Ulrich looked back with widened eyes. Xana smirked.

**"What's wrong? I was hit by my own attack that you sent back and added your own energy wave to it . . . Why am I still alive? Your look is asking me that. You don't get it do you. **

**Franz Hopper is not the only one with upgrades and it's been months since your last fight on Lyoko. I'll tell you this, the upgrades are impressive but they only just leveled the plain field!"**

Xana smirked as Ulrich glared.


	18. Chapter 18

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Xana smirked as Ulrich leveled his swords at him. 

"I don't care how strong you are, Xana." said Ulrich.

**"You should care, Ulrich. Now that Franz Hopper is dead there is nothing stopping me."**

Aelita looked in horror and gasped as Xana said that. Xana looked and smirked in her direction.

**"That's right, dear Aelita. Your father was responsible for Ulrich's upgrade but he did not escape when I got there. It was far too easy to get rid of him."**

Aelita looked down to the ground and sat on her knees.

"Daddy . . ."

Ulrich glared at Xana and got in a fighting position. Xana smirked and followed his opponent's actions. Everything fell quiet as the two engaged in a stare down. This battle would determine the fate of mankind.

One was seeking to save the world which was Ulrich while the other was trying to destroy. Namely Xana. Ulrich ran at Xana and slashed him. Xana however dodged the attack and kicked Ulrich down.

**"Please you are so far out of your league."**

Ulrich got up again and ran at Xana again an tried to punch him. Xana however dodged it and grabbed Ulrich before throwing him over his shoulder. As Ulrich landed he kicked back up and sent Xana flying a few yards away. Xana hit the ground and got back up with an angry stare.

The two charged at each other and clashed their blades together. Electricity sparked from their incredible force. Ulrich gave a thrust but Xana dodged it. Xana slashed back but Ulrich ducked under it.

Ulrich kicked at him and Xana dodged it. Xana brought his long sword down and Ulrich blocked with both of his swords. The two jumped back and charged again. Ulrich thrusted with both of his swords but Xana flipped over the attack and landed behind Ulrich.

They both turned and swiped at each other at the same time. Xana ducked under Ulrich's attack and Ulrich jumped over Xana's attack. Xana than slashed Ulrich which sent him sliding over the ice. He got back up as Xana charged again and clashed with Ulrich again.

They both got into a violent sword fight by clashing their swords back and forth. At one point Xana got Ulrich into an icy wall and defying the laws of gravity he walked on it and continued to clash with Xana. He then spun out of the way of an attack and landed back on the ground. Xana fired a beam of crimson lightning which Ulrich dodged by rolling out of the way.

Ulrich threw one of his swords at Xana who knocked it away. Xana then tried to give a thrust to Ulrich's chest but the samurai spun out of the way and kicked the demonic AI back. Xana fell down and looked back up at the boy.

"Sorry, but I'm not about to let you win that easily." said Ulrich, chuckling.

**"I suppose I've toyed with you long enough. Now witness my real power."**

Xana's body began to glow red and electricity crackled in his hands.

**"Spark Disk!"**

He then fired the red disk which hit Ulrich, knocking him back. Xana then went back forth slashing him, tearing him apart. Ulrich was getting beaten badly as his life points were falling. He smirked when he noticed that Franz Hopper upgraded his life points to that of five hundred.

Xana then spun his body around with his sword around and knocked him to the ground. Xana floated down and crossed his arms while smirking at Ulrich's lifeless body. All of a sudden Ulrich weakly stood up and chuckled.

"Do you really think that could stop me? Did you really think you won?" asked Ulrich.

**"Impossible! No one can survive that onslaught! How are you still standing?"**

"Just because you managed to get rid of Franz Hopper doesn't mean you've won. He did more than just upgrade my virtual form. He upgraded my life points and he gave some new abilities." said Ulrich.

He held out his swords and got ready.

"Super Flash!"

He disappeared in a golden flash and rapidly slashed through Xana. The demonic AI shouted in pain from the blows he was receiving. He then smacked Ulrich back.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

"Super Flash!"

The two dashed through each other, clashing with their attacks. They moved so fast it was like they could not even be seen. The two then charged at each other and both were screaming. Then upon impact they created an explosion that shook the sector and created virtual simulations of highs winds along with lightning clashing through the smoke.

The two jumped back and charged at each other again. Ulrich punched Xana and Xana rammed his foot up Ulrich's stomach. They clashed again and Ulrich tried to kick Xana but Xana caught his foot and threw him back. Xana than grabbed Ulrich and jumped into the air.

Pressing his body against the boy they both crashed into the icy ground with dust exploding from inside the crater. Xana then jumped out of the dust to see Ulrich on the ground out cold.

**"There. I did it."**

"Did what?"

Xana's eyes widened as Ulrich weakly stood up and picked up his swords.

**"Impossible! I knocked you out! What are you?!"**

"Me, I'm just a person who believes in never giving up for the ones your fighting for. Don't you know the good guys always win, Xana?"

**"Fool, this is real life, not some fiction you read in a story. You lost your, you lost when I destroyed the Core of Lyoko, and you lost when I finished off my creator! You can't beat me and you never could!"**

"Prove it!" said Ulrich, smirking.

Xana charged at Ulrich again and fired electricity at him. Ulrich bended back wards all the way down to dodge Xana's attack.

"Sweet! Ulrich pulled a Matrix!" said Odd.

Ulrich then kicked Xana and spun around quickly. He grabbed Xana by the foot and slammed him into the ground. He then jumped into the air and brought his foot down ready to stomp the evil digital entity. Xana however rolled out of the way and kicked Ulrich in the side sending him sliding.

Ulrich quickly jumped back up and looked calmly at Xana. The malevolent digital was struggling not to be blinded by his rage. No matter what he did that boy just kept getting back up.

**"Enough! I shall end this now!"**

Xana held out his sword and began charging himself for his final attack. All of Lyoko darkened as Xana powered up. Ulrich brought out his swords as he was ready for the attack. He closed his eyes as Xana was ready.

"I wish my friends were with me." he whispered.

Suddenly he felt several hands wrap around the back of his hands. He looked back to see Odd, Yumi, Aelita, Sissy, and Hiroki smiling at him. He smiled back.

"Thank you."

Xana charged at them as they held Ulrich's swords in defense and blocked it. Xana's eyes widened as they all swung the two swords at him and hit him hard in the chest. Xana was sent flying back and crashed into the ground. He weakly stood up but fell back down.

His chest was glowing with red electricity crackling from the attack.He growled at them and vanished. William vanished into a black cloud and retreated into the Digital Sea. Everyone turned and looked at Ulrich.

There was a moment of silence and then . . .

"Wow! That was hardcore! You were so awesome, Ulrich! You went all 'WAH! and Xana went like 'AHH!'." said Hiroki, jumping up and down.

"I know! You should have seen the look on Xana's face when he was blasted by his own attack!" said Odd,

"Or when he slashed through Xana leaving him all speechless!" said Hiroki.

Aelita giggled at the two boys as they ranted on and on. Then she remembered what Xana said about her father.

"Ulrich, did Xana really kill my father?"

That was the question that made everyone sober up. Ulrich looked down at the ground with a sad look and nodded. Yumi walked to Aelita.

"He died saving me and Ulrich. If I hadn't been standing around I could have got Ulrich to the scanners faster and he would still be alive." said Yumi,

"No, Yumi. I don't want any of you blaming yourself for what happened. Xana was the one responsible. That's even more reason to take him down." said Aelita.

Everyone nodded. Jeremy materialized everyone and they all stepped out of the scanners. Yumi looked around and noticed Ulrich was not there. She climbed up the ladder and walked towards Jeremy.

"Do you know where Ulrich is?" asked Yumi,

"He is trapped on Lyoko with his mind inside a virtual copy of his Lyoko form. Xana still has his real body so Ulrich can't be materialized. It's like the way Aelita was before we restored her humanity. " said Jeremy.

"So what can we do?" asked Odd,

"We need to free Ulrich's body from Xana's control. That's the only we can get Ulrich out of Lyoko." said Jeremy.

Yumi nodded.

"Then let's get started."

* * *

XANA's Lair 

**"How did he do it?! Where did that boy get all that power?! He will pay for this humiliation! I will not rest until I have shattered his virtual body and scattered the fragments all across the Digital Network!"**

Xana's monsters and William trembled in fear as Xana let loose his rage at his sudden defeat. The entire Digital Network glowed red illuminating Xana's fury.

**"No matter how many upgrades he has received I will not rest until I have humiliated him as he humiliated me! You will all pay Lyoko Warriors!"**


	19. Chapter 19

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Ulrich sat in tower in the Forest Sector of Lyoko meditating. He would spend a few hours meditating and then walk out of the tower and do a little training. He spent his time practicing with his new blades and continued to understand his new abilities. 

_"Ulrich?"_

He was shaken from his thoughts as he heard a familiar voice. He looked to the screen in the tower and saw Yumi's face smiling at him. He smiled back at her and walked over to the screen.

"Hey, Yumi, what's up?"

_"I just finished class today and decided to check up on you. Did I disturb you?"_

"You never bug me, Yumi. I was hoping someone would call. I heard about the clone of me Jeremy made and I was wondering if it was doing better in class than I was."

_"It's doing better in math than you did."_

Ulrich sighed as Yumi giggled.

"I guess I should not be surprised."

_"We have to be careful with your clone and William's clone as well. Jeremy mentioned that the data used to construct the clones' intelligence was what led to the personality of Xana."_

"So we'd be looking at two new Xanas if things go wrong."

_"The difference between Jeremy and Franz Hopper was that Franz did not keep an eye on Xana's development. Jeremy is determined not to make that mistake."_

"Good to know."

_"It's also good to know is that you have a program that purify your body and William from Xana's control when you get the chance."_

"If I get the chance, Yumi. Xana's not going let us get another victory over him easily. After our last fight I believe Xana will be more serious. He was a overconfident since the battle was recently tipped in his favor."

_"Jeremy is also working on a way to see what your new abilities are."_

"I think it's better if we find out during combat. We have enough worrying about what to do with Xana and his Replicas."

_"We need to reunite you with your body before we can bring you back."_

"That will be easy. Like you said I'll just purify my body and William and all that will be left is to focus on Xana."

_"Let's hope, but Franz must have left behind a way to defeat Xana."_

* * *

William walked down the corridor nervously towards the command chamber. He had a plan to take down the Lyoko Warriors and only hoped Xana was in a good mood. Ever since that little defeat by the Lyoko Warriors Xana had spent his time venting his anger alone in the command chamber. If anyone knew that emotions could be their strength and their weakness it was Xana. 

For the reason he was letting out his rage on anything he saw in his chamber of command. All the monsters and William wisely got out of the line of fire. They were loyal but it wasn't worth getting killed when the master was having a temper tantrum. When William entered the large chamber he noticed Xana was seated on his throne waiting for him.

William walked up slowly and made a sketchy bow.

"Master Xana."

Xana raised his head and looked at him with his red eyes.

**"What is it, William?"**

"We have been researching the energy potential inside Ulrich so we can find a way to defeat him. The upgrades he has received are nothing we have ever seen before. If we can somehow obtain the energy we can use it to power our monsters."

Xana cocked his head but did not interrupt.

"There is a energy signature inside Ulrich that somehow made him stronger than even all of the Lyoko Warriors and made him even closer to your level."

**"Continue!"**

"We have begun to scan Lyoko by comparing the scans between Ulrich and the other warriors. We will soon be able to track Ulrich wherever he goes even if he is in the Digital Network." said William.

Xana waved his hand to screen.

**"Show me the difference."**

William nodded and walked over to the interface and placed his hand on the screen. The image of Ulrich and the other Lyoko Warriors appeared on the screen. In a split second the readings came up showing Xana the difference. He stepped out of his throne and looked at the screen.

**"Interesting. Bring him to me. Now!"**

William nodded and bowed before leaving the chamber.

* * *

Ulrich was busy meditating again. It was good to talk to Yumi. Actually it was always good to talk to Yumi and she talked to him everyday since he returned. It was good to know that he could count on his friends. 

He was shaken from his thoughts when he heard a blast and felt an earthquake shake the tower. He ran out of the tower to see three Megatanks and William waiting for him.

"What do you want, William?" asked Ulrich.

"You."

William snapped his fingers and Ulrich was suddenly surrounded by several Kankrelats and Bloks. Ulrich jumped over a Blok as it fired and slashed it in the Eye behind it. He twirled his swords and he blocked lasers being fired at him. Five Bloks surrounded him and he stuck one of his swords into the ground and went horizontal, running on the Bloks in a clock-ward position while kicking them with his feet. They were instantly knocked down from the force of Ulrich's kick.

He rolled out of the way as Kankrelats fired at him. He landed in front of one and used one of his swords to give it a hard swing like a baseball bat that sent it flying into the Digital Sea. He blocked the lasers from the four remaining Kankrelats and jumped at them swinging his swords. The monsters exploded.

Ulrich turned and side stepped a blast from one of the Megatanks. He noticed William was not present and jumped forward avoiding William's massive sword as it came down. He turned and looked to see William swinging his blade down in an over-sized arc. Ulrich responded by blocking with his two swords.

Ulrich was forced into retreating from the many swings from William as he attemped to fight back but only blocked.

"Super Smoke!"

William disappeared into a ball of black smoke and reappeared behind Ulrich and punched him in the back. Ulrich was sent flying across the ground and closer to the edge over the Digital Sea. William smirked as Crabs and Tarantulas appeared out of nowhere and moved in closer with the Megatanks. They closed in and cut off all of Ulrich's escape routes.

William swung his sword as it glowed and fired an energy wave that Ulrich blocked. Soon enough all of the monsters were firing on him. Ulrich had no time to use Super Flash or attack as everyone was out of range.

"Reflector Blast!"

William's eyes widened as all of the lasers were sent back at the monsters and destroyed a few of them. William smirked and vanished in a black cloud. Ulrich raised his eyebrows and noticed his shadow was even larger. He looked behind to see the Scyphozoa.

He did not even get the chance to move as the tentacles grabbed him.

* * *

"Ulrich? Ulrich? Ulrich are you there?" asked Yumi. 

"Yumi, we have a problem. I checked the holomap a few minutes ago. Ulrich had several monsters and William attacking him. We last saw him in the Digital Sea." said Jeremy,

"What?! What do we?! If Ulrich is in the Digital Sea we'll lose him again!" said Yumi.

It was obvious to see Yumi was upset.

"Don't worry. I'll scan all over the network. If Xana has captured him than I can track him." said Jeremy.

* * *

Ulrich awoke to find himself in a dark room while he was sitting on a dark bed. 

"Where am I?"

**"Welcome, Ulrich."**


	20. Chapter 20

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Ulrich gazed at his surroundings to get a better look at his surroundings. It was a large room with pillars for support and a large circular window that exposed the room to direct view of the Digital Sea. The walls, the floor, and pillars were made of red bricks similar to the blue bricks that made up Sector 5. He looked to see Xana sitting on a throne that was engraved with skulls and thorns twisting all around it. 

There was a special control panel built in the armrest for imputing special commands. On top of the glass window was a built in view screen that showed a map of the entire Digital Network. Ulrich noticed he was strapped onto a black chair that looked like something out of a dental phobic's nightmare. A machine like drill was pointed at his head just above him with a large dashboard connected to the machine and the chair.

Ulrich did not like the way the drill like machine was pointed at him. Ulrich spotted William walking up to the throne and bowed before Xana.

"Master Xana, I have captured the boy as you had requested."

**"You have done well, William. Now let us welcome our guest into our home."**

Xana slid out of his chair and strode towards where the chair Ulrich was strapped to.

**"William tells me that the secret of the upgrades Franz Hopper gave you will be the answer to what I have been seeking. You should feel honored that you are the first step in creating a new world."**

"My mom always did say I was special. Though my dad didn't think the same way. Why don't you just want to rule the Earth like all the other psychos?" said Ulrich.

**"Are you going to tell me what Franz Hopper left you or not?"**

"Take a wild guess." said Ulrich.

Xana smirked.

**"Have it your way."**

He pressed a button on the dashboard and the drill like machine that was suspended above Ulrich's chest started glowing red.

**"Why are they always so stubborn?"**

Xana weakly chuckled and strolled through the massive room.

* * *

"Well, after scanning all of Lyoko for Ulrich I started a scanner that would look all over the Digital Network for any sign of Ulrich's digital code. It took a few hours but I managed to pick up a trace. It's small and weak but the fact that I was able to find a trace means that Ulrich is still alive but that's were we get to the bad news." said Jeremy. 

"What's the bad news?" asked Hiroki.

Jeremy got out of his chair and everyone looked at him.

"Ulrich was located in some kind of Cyber base that is connected with all Replicas all over the Digital Network. In other words what I discovered might be Xana's Cyber Net Base. His virtual command center." said Jeremy,

"So Xana was responsible for Ulrich's disappearance." said Aelita.

"Yes. The Cyber Net Base is connected to all of the supercomputers that hold Xana's Replicas and through it allows Xana to travel through the flood gate and use Lyoko or any Replica to send monsters or activate a tower." said Jeremy,

"So where is it?" asked Yumi, anxiously.

Jeremy turned the computer and typed fast. The holomap of Lyoko turned to a holomap of the Digital Network. Jeremy pointed at the center of the upside down underwater city.

"It's located in what would be considered the center of the city. Or at least that's how far my scans went until we picked up Ulrich's digital trail." said Jeremy,

"So let's fire up the Skid and rescue Ulrich!" said Yumi.

"It's not that easy, Yumi. We're all anxious to rescue Ulrich but this is Xana's base we're talking about. If we go there without some kind of plan than Xana will capture all of you." said Jeremy,

"We have no choice. We can't just leave Ulrich at the mercy of Xana." said Sissy.

"She's right and you would know that I would probably never agree with Sissy on anything else ever." said Yumi,

"I agree, Jeremy. My father left a program in Ulrich that allowed him to purify anything infected by Xana. If Xana takes that away then we're back to being on the defense while looking for another way to fight back." said Aelita.

"Yeah! Let's go save Ulrich!" said Hiroki.

Jeremy sighed and nodded.

* * *

"Energize." 

Bright beams shot up as Yumi, Odd, Aelita, Hiroki, and Sissy were transported into the Skid. Aelita was seated in the cockpit while the others were teleported into the three small pods. Hiroki was able to sit with Yumi as they were not other pods and Hiroki was small enough to fit. Aelita opened the interface that allowed Jeremy to see the internal systems.

"Okay, releasing supports."

The magnetic clamps came away leaving the Skid floating in mid-air. The ship rose out of the hangar as Aelita activated the ignition and into the space filled with data screens surrounding Carthage. Jeremy opened a data tunnel and the Skid flew through and it out of the digital shield. They were now in open sky above the Digital Sea.

"Shields activated. Sonar Activated. We're all ready, Jeremy."

The Skid plunged down towards the sea slowing it decent as it was just a few feet above the sea. It plunged into the sea and floodgate opened. The Skid flew out into the sea blue colored Digital Network.

* * *

Ulrich looked up to see the machine powering up. He looked over at Xana who was smirking evilly at him. 

"What is this, thing?" asked Ulrich.

**"A special device that drains the digital code out of any type of program. Seeing as how you have refused to cooperate than I guess I will just have to drain everything that allows you to exist on this plane of existence. Or you could tell what my dearly departed creator left within you without suffering the wrath of my disappointment."**

"Can't say I never like seeing you ticked off, Xana." said Ulrich.

**"You might want to think that over as I rearrange your digital code for good, Ulrich. Or instead of you I should just simply turn my eyes to your friends. No doubt they are worried about you. What do you say we invite them over?"**

An alarm sounded that caught everyone's attention. William turned to the screen and it showed the Skid flying through the submerged city.

"Master, their in the network and heading in our direction with the Skid."

Instead of being angry Xana just chuckled.

**"Just like dogs, I speak and they come. William gather several squads to meet our friends."**

William smiled sinisterly as he walked out of the chamber.

* * *

Aelita piloted the Skid in the direction of where Jeremy said they would find the Cyber Net Base. 

"So what do we do when we find the base?" asked Hiroki,

"Hope we can dock and get inside." said Aelita.

Suddenly the sea turned from quiet blue to blood red. Suddenly a slightly larger version of the Skid but with only one pod followed by several other virtual subs as well with the Eye of Xana on them appeared. They were followed by Kongres and Rekins. William piloted the leading Skid while the other three were piloted by Putties.

"We got company." said Odd.


	21. Chapter 21

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

"Launching Nav Skids!" said Aelita. 

The magnetic couplings that attached the three smaller pods to the ship turned off. The engines were activated and they flew out.

"Everyone get in formation." said Aelita,

"Roger!" said everyone.

Odd took the left of Aelita's ship, Sissy took the right, and Yumi was right next to Odd. William smirked and ordered the Kongres' and Renkins to attack. The monsters roared and flew at them. Aelita piloted the right towards them with others behind her.

The Rekins roar and the Kongres' snarl as they approach.

"Break!" shouted Aelita.

On her command all Nav Skids broke formation. The Kongres and the Rekins break as well and follow their own designate targets. One Kongres got on Yumi's tail and fired a barrage of lasers on her. She quickly did a barrel roll to dodge the lasers an led it through a winding maze of passages.

Odd flew in right above Yumi and fired two missiles that destroyed the pursuing monster.

"Thanks, Odd." said Yumi,

"Yeah, thanks." said Hiroki.

"Your welcome. That's one bogey down." said Odd.

Sissy did a U-turn to avoid lasers and missiles from group of Kongres'' and Renkins. It was a literal dog fight in the sea of data. Aelita flew through the Digital Network as she flew towards the Cyber Net Base. The computer showed a targeting reticule appeared on her screen.

"Everyone! I found the base!" said Aelita.

A shower of missiles that pounded against the shields of her ship forced her to let out a scream that everyone one heard. She looked behind to see William's ship and two more ships acting as wingmen on either side.

"I'll take them myself. Cover me." said William.

_"Yes sir."_

The pilots closed up in formation as William used his targeting computer to lock onto Aelita's ship. William smirked and fired. Aelita screamed as another set of missiles blasted against the shield of her ship. One more hit and it was all over.

"Aelita, hang on!" said Odd.

William smirked as Odd came in and prepared to fire.

"Close up, formation."

William's wingmen obeyed his order and got in Odd's line of fire. A Renkin flew in and fired a missile as Odd. Suddenly two missiles flew in and hit projectile and the monster. Sissy flew and streaked in the direction of Aelita and William's ships.

Aelita increased speed to full throttle in order to avoid William's targeting computer.

"Run all you want, Aelita. This ends here." said William, smirking.

"Hang on, Aelita. I'm almost there." said Odd.

He locked onto William's ship when a Kongres flew and hit Odd's rear engine with a blast of lasers. Odd gasped as his ship was hit hard.

"I'm hit. I can't stay with you." said Odd,

"Get clear, Odd. You can't do anymore good here." said Sissy.

"Sorry." said Odd.

He pulled out as the Kongres targeted him. William noticed Odd pulling out and smirked.

"Let him go, stay on Aelita."

His wingmen obeyed and they streaked even closer to Aelita's ship. The targeting computer locked onto Aelita's ship.

"I have you now."

Before he could fire a pair of missiles flew in and hit his left wingman.

"What?!"

William looked up to see a Nav Skid above them flying close.

"Yahoo!" said Hiroki.

Yumi targeted William's ship.

_"Look out!"_

The right wingmen panicked and moved out ramming into William's ship sending it streaking out of control into the sea while the wingman hit one of the upside down buildings and exploded. William tried in vain to regain control of his ship as the blood red sea turned back to peaceful blue.

"All right!" said Sissy,

"That was close." said Yumi.

"Awesome!" said Hiroki,

"Way to cut it close." said Odd.

"Everyone hook back up." said Aelita.

They flew back to the Skid and landed the Nav Skids on their respective spots on the mast.

"The coordinates are set." said Aelita.

The Skid flew through the sea and soon came upon a shape that was domed on the top and bottom with pillars and crossbeams in the middle. It looked like the gigantic blue sphere of Carthage but it was colored red and surrounded by a barrier. Aelita found an entrance into the barrier and maneuvered onto a platform. The Skid floated right above the platform and all Lyoko Warriors transported onto the platform.

Aelita held a small computer in her hand as she left the craft.

"Follow me. We should be able to locate Ulrich with this device." said Aelita.

They ran through halls made of red bricks like the ones in Sector 5.

* * *

An alarm sounded that caught Xana's attention as he turned from the view screen. 

**"It looks your friends have finally arrived, huh Ulrich."**

He looked back to the boy who was still strapped to the large black chair. He waved his hand and a group of monsters composed of Putties, Kankrelats, Crabs, Tarantulas, and Bloks appeared and bowed before Xana.

**"Hide in the command room and make sure you hide your presence well. I will deal with our guests."**

Xana stood up from his throne and strolled towards the exit while his monsters scattered and hid.

* * *

"This way!" 

They all followed Aelita as they ran through the blood red hallways.

"It's this way! We're close!" said Aelita.

Just as they were about to turn a corner Xana stepped with his arms behind his back.

**"Welcome. We've been expecting you."**

Everyone stopped and armed themselves as they were ready for anything Xana would throw at them.

"Not good." muttered Odd.

A door closed behind them leaving them trapped. Xana smirked at them.

**"You want to see your friend don't you? Well if you want him so bad than you can go. However I only ask you enter the command chamber in chains."**

"You wish." said Yumi.

Yumi threw her fans but Xana simply caught them in his hands and crushed them.

**"It seems you are in need of some discipline."**

Xana raised his hands and electricity gathered.

**"Spark Disk!"**

Suddenly the door opened and William ran in. Everyone ducked as Xana fired only for his attack to hit his own servant. William screamed as he was sent flying back. Everyone slipped past Xana as he was distracted and he glared at William.

**"Get up, fool! After them!"**

"Super Smoke!"

William vanished into a cloud of black smoke that pursued the Lyoko Warriors and a group of Putties followed him.

* * *

Aelita led them to a door with the Eye of Xana on it and blasted it open with an Energy Field. It fell down to reveal the massive chamber that served as Xana's chamber of command. 

"Ulrich!" shouted Yumi.

She saw him strapped down on the large black chair and was instantly at his side cutting the binds.

"Thanks, Yumi." said Ulrich, smiling.

Suddenly the warriors saw monsters coming out of their hiding places and surround them. William walked in leading a group of Putties.

**"Get out of my way!"**

They stepped aside and Xana strolled past them and stopped in front of the Lyoko Warriors.

**"Whether Franz Hopper left you anything or not, Ulrich, you're mine now."**

"This will be fun." said Ulrich,

"I'll take the ugly one." said Odd.

"No, I'll take the ugly one." said Hiroki,

"I called it." said Odd.

"Which one's the ugly one?" asked Aelita.

**"Attack!"**

The monsters charged and fired their lasers. In just a few minutes it was an all out war. The sounds of weapons clanging across the room echoed across the room. Lasers were seen and heard across the room like thunder and lightning.

Ulrich got up and brought his swords. He sliced through several Putties when Xana appeared and kicked him in the gut. He was sent flying back and came onto an abrupt crash. He looked up to see Xana smirking down at him.

He got up and swung his blades. Xana dodged them and sent an uppercut to Ulrich's face which sent knocked him by followed by a roundhouse punch. The combo knocked Ulrich off his feet. Xana than grabbed him and tossed him across the room.

Odd kept firing but a laser to the knee distracted him enough for a Tarantula to fire and knock him back. Yumi flipped through the air and landed in front of Xana.

**"You seem to be missing your fans, Yumi, but don't worry here's a big fan for you."**

Just as he finished that sentence William appeared in front of Yumi and kicked her in the chest sending her through the air and landed on Ulrich.

"Flame Rain!" shouted Hiroki.

Fire balls fell from the ceiling but Xana was not concerned. He calmly pulled out his sword and pointed at the falling balls of fire.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

A huge spiral of electricity blasted from his sword and negated Hiroki's attack. Ulrich looked on to see everyone losing to the overwhelming enemy force.

"Everyone, we need to get out of here now! Head for the doors and back the Skid!" shouted Ulrich.

Everyone nodded and ran towards the door.

**"Stop them!"**

William vanished in a black cloud of smoke and pursued them. Ulrich threw his sword at the dashboard that was attached to the machine he was strapped to earlier. The controls exploded and the doors started to close. He grabbed Yumi and picked her up.

If it wasn't for the fact she was virtual she would have been blushing.

"Super Flash!"

He vanished in a flash of golden light that ran for the doors. Just as the doors were seconds from closing Ulrich jumped and landed on the other side. He put Yumi down and smiled awkwardly. Yumi smiled and they ran through the hall.

They made it back to the platform where the Skid was docked. Aelita, Sissy, Hiroki, and Odd already transported into the Skid.

"Sorry, Yumi. You and Ulrich will have to share a pod." said Aelita, smiling.

"I hope you two enjoy your time." said Odd, in sing-song voice.

"Try not to get all comfortable." said Hiroki.

Everyone laughed as Yumi and Ulrich looked very awkward. They were transported into their pods as Xana and William appeared out of the entrance with monsters ready to attack.

**"It seems we will have to discover Ulrich's new abilities the hard way. I hope you're ready for the next few fights, Ulrich. I will not be so merciful next time."**


	22. Chapter 22

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

In the Cyber Net Base William sat in a dark lab pacing around the room. 

"Xana's getting desperate. I need to find a way to get rid of them or else Xana will get really angry."

The possessed boy was worried. Even though he had been forcefully programmed to serve Xana by his specter William was still allowed to think like a human. And right now he was showing the emotion known as fear. No monster or specter wanted to be in the same room as Xana when he was angry.

Unless they lived a life without regret. He turned to the monsters watching him which was about four Kankrelats watching.

"We need to think of a way get those guys and fast." said William.

The monsters nodded in agreement. The doors opened to reveal someone that made them step back in fear.

**"I don't know why you bother trying to think of a plan anymore. Any plot you have is destined to fail."**

Xana casually strolled into the room while William whipped around and looked with wide eyes.

"Master Xana, is there a problem? I thought you were observing the gang."

**"They've already decided to get some sleep. Even Jeremy has gone to rest. It seems that my recent attacks have drained them. Now would be the perfect opportunity to eliminate them."**

"That's a good idea, Master, but you got me thinking of an idea. There are some people that fall asleep so deeply they never wake up."

**"Those are called comas, William. I am not a fool. If you have a plan get to the point."**

"What if you attack them in their dreams? That might keep them from waking up ever again."

**"That is so cruel . . . I love it!"**

Xana smirked evilly and walked into his chamber of command. Any monster he passed bowed to him. He looked out the window into the calm submerged upside down city. It was colored peaceful blue.

**"William, get to Lyoko and make sure Ulrich does not interfere. I don't care how many monsters just make sure he doesn't wake anyone up."**

He pointed his sword and released a stream of crimson electricity. The Digital Network started to glow blood red which illuminated Xana's evil. In Lyoko the wires pulsed as a tower in the Desert Sector turned from white to red. A black specter came out of the outlets in the dorms and entered the bodies of each Lyoko Warrior.

Ulrich was meditating when his wrist computer beeped alerting him to an activated tower.

"Jeremy? Xana's activated a tower! Jeremy? Yumi? Anyone?" asked Ulrich.

* * *

"Are you enjoying yourself, Aelita?" asked Jeremy, 

"Yes, Jeremy, it's so wonderful." said Aelita.

He handed her a flower and she took it and smelled it. She blushed and kissed Jeremy on the cheek. The genius blushed just as hard as the pink haired girl and rubbed the back of his head.

"It feels great knowing Xana is finally gone." said Jeremy,

"Are you sure he is gone?" asked Aelita.

"Positive. The program was used to trap him back in the supercomputer and the switch is locked up tight." said Jeremy.

Aelita smiled and pulled Jeremy's face towards her and they kissed hard. It lasted a few seconds before the ground beneath them began to shake them.

"Jeremy, what's going on?" asked Aelita,

"It's an earthquake! We better get to a safer spot." said Jeremy.

The rumbling got louder and large crack began to split the ground apart. Aelita started to get dangerously close to the edge.

"Aelita, get from the edge!" shouted Jeremy.

However it was too late as Aelita slipped and started to fall.

"Jeremy, help me!" shouted the pink haired girl.

Jeremy threw himself across the hole and held his hand down to rescue Aelita.

"Aelita, grab my hand!"

She reached up when the rock she was holding broke off and she fell into the abyss. She fell to her death and vanished.

"Aelita!" shouted Jeremy.

He got up and sat on her knees. Nothing was heard except the sniffles from Jeremy.

"There is only one thing to do. I will be with her again." muttered Jeremy.

Jeremy stood up and leaned over the edge. He took a big gulp and jumped. However the ground slammed together closing the hole causing Jeremy to fall on his face. Suddenly he heard an evil laughter that was behind him.

Jeremy got up and turned to face the one being he thought was gone.

**"You actually that would work against me? Fool!"**

"Xana!" shouted Jeremy.

**"The one and only, dear Jeremy, and congratulations. You got to spend your first and last moments of love with you little princess. Now that she's gone the world is mine for the taking!"**

Xana laughed as Jeremy collapsed and sobbed.

* * *

Ulrich used his Super Flash and ran towards the Way Tower in the Forest Sector to get to the Desert Sector. 

"I hope the others get here soon." muttered the boy.

* * *

"Laser Arrow!" 

The arrow glanced off the nearest Crab causing little damage.

"You can do better than that." scoffed Ulrich,

"Yeah, you're right. Laser Arrow!"

This time the shot was dead on and the Crab exploded.

"My turn . . . Impact!"

Ulrich's sword plunged into the Eye on the next Crab causing it to shatter into deletion.

"Nice one." said Odd.

They all took off towards the tower but Yumi suddenly froze. She struggled but could not move. The last Crab turned to her and charged its laser. It fired but Ulrich appeared between Yumi and the shot.

His swords sparked as it deflected the attack. The Megatanks turned and fired at them. Yumi regained her mobility and jumped out of the way. Ulrich charged them without noticing the ground beginning to crack.

Yumi began to move when suddenly she was frozen again. The ground began to crack open underneath her. She looked to see Ulrich running towards but Flying Mantas and Hornets flew in and stopped him. He looked on in horror to see Yumi fall.

"Good bye, Ulrich." muttered the black haired.

She fell into darkness she had experienced once before. She was scared. Scared beyond anything than ever before.

* * *

Yumi cried in her sleep.

* * *

The sphere of energy floated in front of Aelita in Sector 5. A rainbow of colors reflected on its surface that pulsed rhythmically. Aelita watched in horror as Flying Mantas surrounded the sphere and open fired with deadly accuracy. The sphere shifted with each laser hitting and Aelita screamed. 

"Energy Field!"

She destroyed one of them but for every one she destroyed two took its place.

"Don't hurt him!" shouted Aelita.

She fired another energy field that missed its target. She soon saw a brilliant flash of light and she realized her father was destroyed.

"NO!"

* * *

Aelita sobbed silently in her sleep. 

"Daddy . . ."

* * *

Xana smirked as his enemies tossed and turned in their sleep. He would let them suffer first and then put them into a sleep so deep they would never wake up. His eyes went wide and his vision changed to that of Lyoko in the Desert Sector with Ulrich using his Super Flash. 

**"William, Ulrich is trying to get to the tower. I would rather prefer he fails."**

Xana sent a telepathic message to his minion on Lyoko. William smirked and nodded.

* * *

Ulrich was in the Desert Sector using his Super Flash to get to the tower as soon as possible. He looked to see the image of the tower getting bigger and clearer every second as he got closer. He noticed a dark figure and stopped. William appeared and sent a thrust at him with his giant cleaver. 

Ulrich took out his swords and slashed with William who deflected the attack. Ulrich clashed with William rapidly attacking. William blocked all attacks with his sword. He then swiped at Ulrich's feet who jumped up and over the attack landing behind William.

Ulrich sent a kick at William who blocked it with his left arm and pushed it flipping Ulrich over and landed on his feet. William and Ulrich rapidly clashed again, attacking and dodging through the rapid sword fight. William jumped up and sent flying kicks at Ulrich who blocked them one hand. William brought his sword down and Ulrich did a one handed cartwheel over the attack.

Ulrich attacked with a vertical swipe but William did a one handed back flip over the attack. Ulrich attacked and William clashed again. They both struggled with each other and jumped back.

"You know, William, this whole possessed by Xana thing is getting old. Why not we just talk after I stopped your master's plot?" asked Ulrich.

William responded by firing energy waves which Ulrich dodged. Ulrich then charged at William and attacked causing him to jump over the attack. William spun his body and swung his sword vertically like a chain saw. Ulrich bent back narrowly missing the attack.

William kicked off the ground and flew at Ulrich. The samurai did a back flip over William's attack and they both landed on the ground. Ulrich and William clashed again and sparks flew as their swords collided. Just when it seemed the fight would last forever Ulrich finally knocked William's sword out of his and slashed the boy.

He vanished in a cloud of black and red smoke. Ulrich ran into the tower and flew up to the platform. He placed his hand in the interface.

ULRICH

CODE: LYOKO

"I guess I should thank Franz for the ability to deactivate towers now. I better tell the others about this." muttered the brown haired boy.

The tower turned from red to white.

* * *

William reappeared back in the lab. He looked around nervously and crept towards the door. He stopped when he noticed a certain evil AI standing at the exit with his arms crossed. William stopped with a look of terror on his face. 

"Let me guess; you're not pleased Ulrich deactivated the tower?" asked William.

**"No. Now welcome to your deepest nightmare."**

With that Xana walked towards William with a smirk. William would have went pale white if he was in the real world right now.


	23. Chapter 23

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

It was late at night as every student of Kadic Junior High slept. It was quiet and peaceful. In the factory the scanners came to life and opened to reveal a boy with dark colored hair. His eyes opened up to reveal the eye of Xana before turning back to his normal eyes. 

He smirked as he strolled towards the elevator and pushed the button to head up to the lobby. He walked out of the elevator and onto the bridge. He opened and sewer lid and climbed down the ladder and walked down towards the school. He climbed out of the sewer and walked out of the forests.

He snuck over to an open air vent and put his hand in it. His body pulsed black as his fingers released tendrils of black smoke like tendrils smirking as they seeped into the air-vent and spread like liquid. He stood up with a look of satisfaction as he headed back into the factory.

"They are in for a real surprise." muttered the possessed boy.

* * *

Ulrich looked around in the Forest Sector as he once again trained. He swung his swords gracefully through the air. His every step seemed like a dance as he swung again and again. Just as he was about to take another step. 

_"Ulrich?"_

That one voice asking an innocent question was caused Ulrich to lose his concentration and trip. Landing face first on the ground he grunted and wondered who was calling. When he opened a window he saw that it was Yumi. He quickly hid wiped his frustrated look away and stood back up hoping Yumi did not see him make a moron out of himself.

He liked keeping his pride in peace.

"Hey, Yumi, what's up?"

_"Nothing new. Except the fact that now we know the location of Xana's base we plan to go there and take the fight to him."_

"We should be careful, Yumi. Even if we know where's Xana command center it's not as easy as it sounds."

_"I know but while we're at it you can purify William and free him from Xana's control along with your body. You can finally come back and live with us in the real world again."_

Ulrich noticed a happy smile on Yumi's face as she said that sentence.

"That's about the best thing I can think about these days."

_"We are also modifying the Skid so it can withstand more attacks. Xana was trying hard to stop us from rescuing you when we discovered the location of his Cyber Net Base."_

"That's a good idea. In the meantime how is everyone doing?"

_"Nothing much. Odd is still trying to get a date, Jeremy and Aelita are still working on the Skid, Hiroki is trying out a new game, and we're still working on a way to get your body back."_

"Seems good to me. But you all don't have try so hard for me. I can handle myself for a while and I don't mind being here. It gives me a break from getting chewed by my dad."

* * *

Odd, Jeremy, and Aelita sat at their usual table with Sissy. 

"We still need to make some plans before we actually attack Xana's base." said Jeremy,

"What's there to plan? We get in, kick Xana's butt, save William, get out, and make it back in time for dinner." said Odd.

"It's not that simple, Odd." said Aelita,

"Yeah, Xana won't go down that easily. We need to make several back up plans just in case he has some traps ready for us." said Jeremy.

* * *

Most of the time the classes went by without a single event. The day passed by and the work was finished. Finally the bell rang and everyone packed their backpacks and walked out to the next class. Milly and Tamiya were the last one out when a strange noise was caught by their ears. 

Looking at the nearby by air vent they noticed a shadow seep out and shaped itself onto a small that had an antenna like pat on its head with red eyes. Milly and Tamiya stared at it, mesmerized by what they were seeing. The creature jumped at them and they let out screams that made Kiwi howl and glass windows crack. Everyone looked to see them running from some kind of shadow like creature.

"Hey! Whoever is pulling the prank better stop or . . . Oof!" said Jim.

The creature jumped and smacked him to the ground. Students screamed as more shadow monsters appeared out of the vents. Jeremy looked at his laptop and his scanner detected an activated tower in the Mountain Sector.

"You guys go! I'll stay and get everyone out of here." said Sissy.

Everyone nodded and ran. Sissy turned to see he creatures charging at him.

"Everyone, get out of the building!" shouted Sissy.

She turned and kicked at the nearest creature but it leaped for over her. It swatted at her but the girl managed to leap over its attack. She brought her foot down and the impact managed to destroy the creature. However two leapt behind her and rammed their heads into her back.

She was knocked but she retaliated by flipping back up and giving them both kicks sending them flying into the wall. She looked around and noticed them coming out of the air vents.

"So that's where they are coming from." muttered Sissy.

* * *

"Transfer Yumi." 

"Transfer Odd."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Scanner Odd."

"Scanner Aelita."

"Virtualization."

* * *

They appeared in the Mountain Sector. Just as they landed Yumi quickly back flipped as a stream of lasers fired at her. She looked to see two Crabs were blocking their way ti the tower. 

"Laser Arrow!"

"Energy Field!"

They were quickly stuck and destroyed easily.

"Let's go." said Aelita,

"Any monsters ahead, Jeremy?" asked Yumi.

_"First there were two Crabs and just ahead are two Tarantulas and the tower is being guarded by a platoon of Kankrelats." _

As he finished the group saw the two Tarantulas approaching and sat down before raising their guns. They opened fire but a golden blur sped at them and sliced their guns off. The Tarantulas screamed as Yumi swung her fans which went in a downward arc onto the Eye of Xana on their backs. Ulrich appeared in front of them and smiled.

"You didn't think you guys were going to have all the fun were you?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to see how long we could get without you." said Odd.

* * *

Students and teachers screamed as the cyber demons chased and surrounded them. A few tried to fight back but the creature knocked them down. Sissy kicked one and punched another but more just kept coming.

* * *

Yumi concentrated her powers on a large boulder that came down and rolled onto the platoon of Kankrelats like a bolling ball. The small monsters fired lasers at it but they were crushed and scattered. Aelita ran into the tower and headed to the upper platform. She placed her hand on the floating screen. 

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

* * *

The Cyber Demons disappeared into black smoke as Sissy sighed in relief. 

_"Return to the Past now!"_

* * *

**"It seems once again you have failed, William. I am running out of patience. I will be back and when I am I will have found a fitting punishment for your uselessness."**

Xana walked out of the room leaving William with a very nervous look.


	24. Chapter 24

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

**"The greatest threat to my plans is Ulrich along with that annoying Jeremy. Remove them and the rest of them will fall."**

Xana sat on his throne looking at the view screen in front of him. It had divided up into various images of towers, the Skid, and Ulrich meditating in the Forest Sector. Two of the towers glowing green for the two clones of Ulrich and William in the real world. Xana opened his red eyes and smirked.

* * *

"Hey, everyone, I got good news." said Jeremy. 

They all sat down in the cafe eating their lunch.

"What's the news?" asked Sissy,

"Well, for the last few days I have been working on a special program that will allow Ulrich to be able to enter the real world in the body of the specter I created to replace him here at the academy. With this Ulrich will be able to enter the real world inside the specter until we can get his real body back." said Jeremy.

"That's great news, Jeremy!" said Aelita,

"All right!" said Odd.

"Awesome!" said Hiroki,

"That's great!" said Yumi.

"In the meantime I hope Ulrich will be able to have no problems with controlling the specter. I need some time because the last time I created a specter Xana was able to take over the tower. I need you all on Lyoko when I start the process because once I do the tower will be vulnerable to Xana's infection." said Jeremy,

"No problem, Jeremy. It will be great to know Ulrich will be able to live in the real world even if it's not his real body." said Yumi.

"It might be cool if Yumi tried to kiss the specter Ulrich." whispered Odd to Hiroki.

Yumi heard that and blushed before glaring at the two.

"Hiroki, you want me to cancel that ticket to Turbo Ninjas: 3?" asked Yumi,

"No! No! No! Please, Yumi!

I'll be good! I promise! wailed Hiroki.

Yumi patted Hiroki's head affectionately while smiling in victory before glaring at Odd.

"Odd, suggest another thing like that and I'll feed your remains to Kiwi." said the black haired girl, glaring.

"Eep." whimpered Odd.

Aelita, Sissy, and Jeremy snickered as both the jesters were knocked off their high horse by what they call Yumi's 'glare of impending doom'. Lunch was soon over and Jeremy was typing at his computer with Aelita at his side.

* * *

In Xana's lair the evil super program sat on his throne deep in thought. Suddenly he opened his red eyes. 

**"I detect a sudden disturbance on Lyoko."**

William bowed before him and stood up.

"Jeremy must be trying a new project, Master, perhaps we should . . .

**"Silence you fool!"**

William winced and stepped back as Xana stood up from his throne.

**"There is a sudden change of data in the tower where the polymorphic clone of Ulrich is encoded. That clone was created for the sole purpose of avoiding suspicion at the school while Ulrich remained with his mind in a virtual container on Lyoko."**

"Jeremy must be upgrading the clone." suggested William.

**"Or something else. I think it's time to find out."**

Xana's red eyes released a beam of light that allowed him to see from great distance. His vision traveled to the virtual world where Jeremy was experimenting with his new project. He looked at what Jeremy was doing in the tower and listened to the conversation in the real world.

**"Ha! So that's his plan! A very clever one which is to be expected. The data in the tower is being modified to link the polymorphic specter to Ulrich's mind on Lyoko. **

**It won't be like his real body but almost just as good. ****Now is the perfect chance to attack them and possibly finish them."**

"You're going to take over the tower to take control of Ulrich?" asked William.

**"More than that, William. The attack will have three targets. You will lead an attack on Lyoko's core, a group of Creepers and Mantas will attack Jeremy's sub the Skidbladnir in the hangar, and I will take over the tower. If this plan succeeds this will be the end of the Lyoko Warriors! **

**Hehe!"**

* * *

Ulrich ran through the Forest Sector completely overcome by excitement. The reason why was because he could be back in the real world with his friends. He was looking forward to seeing all of them in the real world again. He used his Super Flash to go even faster. 

"Hey, Jeremy, you sure this will work?" asked Ulrich.

_"It should work. I went through all of the calculations and I made sure they were right."_

"I just feel a little nervous. I still remember the last time I was a test subject." said Ulrich.

_"Yeah did I mention how sorry I was about that?"_

"Forget it, Jeremy. I just felt like mentioning it." said Ulrich.

He entered the Way Tower and traveled through the data stream into the Desert Sector. He came out of the Way Tower and headed for the tower that was used for his specter clone. He soon saw it and stopped in front of it.

"So what do I do?" asked Ulrich.

_"Enter the tower and I'll be able to upload you into the clone."_

Ulrich did as he was told and stood on the platform. Jeremy typed away at the computer. It was at that moment when his plans fell apart. A sudden beeping sound caught Jeremy's attention and he turned away from his work.

"What's wrong, Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

Everyone looked concerned.

"Oh no! Everyone you need to get down to the scanners! Xana's sent William to attack Lyoko's Core."

Another beeping sound caught his eye. He looked over and gasped.

"Make that not only the Core of Lyoko but also the Skid. Several monsters are heading for hangar."

* * *

William stood on top of his black Manta as he flew into the core room with two other Mantas as his wingmen. He landed on one of the large stairs as Creepers gathered on all sides of the room.

* * *

A Dragon roared as it flew outside the hangar of where the Skidbladnir was docked. Several Mantas flew around with the Dragon as Creepers gathered around the sub.

* * *

Ulrich looked around the blue glowing platform as he waited. 

"Jeremy, what's happening?"

_"Xana's decided to have some fun. He's sent William and several groups of monster to attack both the Core of Lyoko and the Skid. If we lose either of them than Xana benefits."_

"I'll go and help." said Ulrich.

_"Wait! Something's wrong! Oh no! Ulrich get out of the tower!_

_Xana's trying to take over the tower! Get out or you'll be trapped! I've already launched the program!"_

Outside the tower's glowing aura changed from green to red. Three Tarantulas, one Megatank, and five Crabs appeared outside and spread out around the tower.

* * *

"Everybody! We've got a situation!" said Jeremy. 

"What is it, Jeremy?" asked Odd.

"We're dealing with a three way attack. One is focused on the Core of Lyoko, one is focused on the Skid, and the last one is focused on Ulrich." said Jeremy,

"What do you mean?" asked Yumi.

"Xana's taking control of the tower for Ulrich's clone and I already the launched the program to upload Ulrich's mind into the clone. Long story short, you need to split up. One group needs to protect the Core, one needs to protect the Skid, and the last needs to get to the tower." said Jeremy,

"Aelita and I will go to the tower. She can deactivate it and hopefully before nothing bad happens." said Odd.

Aelita nodded.

"Agreed. Yumi should get to the core while Sissy and Hiroki get the hangar." said Jeremy.

Everyone nodded. Aelita, Odd, and Yumi stepped into the scanners and Jeremy started the sequence.

"Transfer Aelita."

"Transfer Odd."

"Transfer Yumi."

"Scanner Aelita."

"Scanner Odd."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Virtualization."

All of three of them vanished into a blast of light as they fell into Lyoko.

* * *

"FIRE!" shouted William. 

The Creepers and the Flying Mantas charged their lasers and fired. The first shield layer was obliterated in a matter of seconds. William smirked but a sudden sound was caught by his ears as two fans flew through the air and sliced through the Eye on two Flying Mantas. William looked down to see Yumi catching her fans and blocking lasers from the Creepers.

William threw his sword down to where Yumi was and she flipped back as it hit the floor. William jumped off seconds after he threw his sword and landed so hard he left a sizable crater in the room. Yumi pulled out her fans as William picked up his sword. Yumi threw her fans at William and leapt in the air.

William blocked the first one and knocked the other one with his sword but Yumi jumped on the ground and slid underneath William on her back and sent him flying with two kicks to the chest. William flipped in mid-air and skidded along the ground. He ran at Yumi to slash her but Yumi flipped over him and landed on his back. She launched him back which sent him flying face first into the wall.

He got back up and growled. Yumi noticed the Creepers and the last Flying Manta were still firing at the second and last shield layer. She threw her fans which instantly hit and destroyed two more Creepers buying her some more time. Yumi then swung her fans at William who batted them away with her weapon.

Yumi jumped up and caught them in her hands and did a low spin kick that knocked William off his feet. William jumped up and ran at Yumi who threw her fans but William dodged. Yumi reached out with her telekineses that redirected the fans into William's back. They sliced into his back and knocked him over.

William swung his blade but Yumi back-flipped away and swung her fans. Unfortunately William deflected them again. He lunged at her and swung his blade but Yumi flipped over and kicked William in the face and sent him to the ground.

Yumi quickly threw her fans that sliced through William who turned into a black with a red eye.

* * *

Hiroki and Sissy that showed them the large circular platform surrounding the Skid. Six Creepers surrounded the Skid while three Flying Mantas floated above them. The Creepers charged their lasers and fired. The Mantas fired a steady stream of lasers that hit and pounded against the Skid's shield. 

Sissy released a web string and sling shotted herself onto the platform. She neatly dodged a laser from a Creeper and pulled out her staff as she stabbed the monster in the head. Hiroki got another Creeper's attention by releasing a fire ball at it. It turned and fired a laser at him.

Hiroki leapt out of the way as the other Creepers and a Flying Manta fired at him.

* * *

Jeremy monitored the fights in Lyoko. So far it seemed the battle was going well. Yumi defeated William and was dealing with the remaining Creepers and Manta. However Sissy and Hiroki were under heavy fire. 

As for the activated tower it was still heavily guarded with Xana even sending reinforcements.

BANG!

Jeremy turned around to see the clone of Ulrich with its pupils replaced by the Eye of Xana. It growled and grabbed Jeremy's neck, cutting off all oxygen and tossed the boy genius into the wall.

* * *

**"Ha-ha-ha! This is too easy! With everyone scattered across Lyoko trying to defend the Core and the Skid dealing with the genius will be easy as Kankrelat target practice!"**

"Not yet, Xana!"

Xana turned back to see Ulrich standing and glaring at him. They were both floating in a purple violent storm. Xana smirked as Ulrich closed his fists.

"You've used me as a puppet, Xana! Now it's time to return the favor!" said Ulrich.

Ulrich lunged at Xana and knocked him down. Xana kicked Ulrich off him and stood up.

**"So you're the reason why it's been a little difficult. It seems I will have to deal with you here and Jeremy out there.**

Xana got in a fighting position.

**"This will be fun."**


	25. Chapter 25

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Ulrich and Xana faced each other in a dark storm as dark purple clouds surrounded them and crimson lightning flashed around them. 

"You've learned my secrets so now I will learn yours." said Ulrich.

Ulrich glowed and released a beam of light that hit Xana in the forehead.

**"We'll see about that."**

Xana released a black tentacle of smoke that hit Ulrich in the face and the tentacle spread across his face and tossed him onto what could be considered the ground. Even though they were floating. Ulrich looked up to see Xana smirking down at him.

**"I promise I'll tear you apart . . ."**

* * *

**" . . . Slowly."** said the Xanafied clone of Ulrich as it walked over to Jeremy. 

Jeremy moved out of the way as a fist left a huge hole in the wall where his head was seconds ago. Jeremy ran as fast as he could as he was no match for the possessed specter.

* * *

Odd ducked behind a large boulder as two Tarantulas spotted him and opened fire. He fired several Laser Arrows that unfortunately missed and alerted the remaining monsters to the enemy's presence. 

"Jeremy, the tower is heavily guarded. Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

* * *

Hiroki fired another fire ball that hit a Creeper in the head causing it to explode. Sissy swung around on her web and hit another Manta. A roar was heard and they looked up to see the Dragon outside the hangar open its giant maw and prepare to fire. 

"I got an idea." said Sissy.

She fired two webs that stuck two of the struts holding the Skid and pulled on the web strings. When she was ready she jumped and was sling shotted out of the hangar and towards the Dragon. She flew right into the Dragon's mouth and the monster exploded from the inside as Sissy flew right down the monster's throat and held her staff out. The monster exploded as Sissy was devirtualized.

"All right! Cool!" said Hiroki.

* * *

The clone finally caught up to Jeremy and shocked him endlessly. However inside the clone's mind was an even greater struggle. Xana and Ulrich were going at it with punch kicks, and any form of hand to hand combat. Ulrich had finally pinned Xana and his forehead released a beam of light that hit Xana's forehead. 

"Let's see what you're thinking, Xana. Probing your mind is like fishing in Odd's drawers but's worth it."

Xana groaned as he now discovered what it felt to have his mind probed.

"This information could be used by Jeremy to cripple you for good." said Ulrich.

**"That knowledge will perish with you."**

Xana suddenly started to grow in size and Ulrich held on for his life as Xana became the size of a large building. Xana grabbed Ulrich and started crushing the boy in his hand.

**"Stupid boy! You dare defy me!?"**

Ulrich looked up at Xana's rage filled eyes.

"I would do that and more to destroy you for good, Xana! And if you can't understand that then you will never win!" shouted Ulrich.

He started to grow in size as well and threw his fist that crashed into Xana's stomach. The demonic AI fell over and then looked up with a face of barely contained rage. Ulrich threw another punch but Xana caught it and crushed the boy's hand. Ulrich screamed as Xana rammed his foot into Ulrich's stomach and knocked him down.

Xana smirked for a second but Ulrich got up and lunged with righteous fury.

"You picked the wrong mind to attack, Xana." said Ulrich.

Xana got up and smirked.

**"I don't think so, Ulrich."**

* * *

Jeremy screamed as the clone continued to shock him but Sissy jumped and kicked the clone in the back of the head forcing it to let go of the blond genius. The clone looked to see Sissy in a fighting stance. It smirked and grabbed Jeremy by the neck and held the boy between itself and Sissy. 

"Leave me or the boy dies."

* * *

Xana smirked but a voice got his attention. 

"Don't you dare turn your back on me, Xana. What are you planning?" asked Ulrich.

He grabbed Xana and turned him around so the corrupt program was facing him. Xana blasted him back with electricity and let out a taunting laugh. Ulrich saw what Xana was doing and gasped.

"Jeremy! Hang on!"

He lunged at Xana and the two were once again in a seemingly endless violent struggle.

"I won't let you do this, Xana!" said Ulrich.

**"Fool, as long as I am here I remain in control of this body. It can only be stopped if Aelita deactivates the tower."**

"Or if I get rid of you here and now." said Ulrich.

**"Destroy me and we both die."**

"So be it." said Ulrich.

**"And if you fail?"**

"I won't."

* * *

The clone's hand started shaking. The clone looked with wide eyes as Jeremy slipped out of its grasp and Sissy took advantage of the distraction. She kicked the clone in the face and twisted its arm behind its back. 

**"Foolish humans! This gains you nothing!"**

"Jeremy, this is the second time you made a clone that was taken over by Xana. Would it kill you to make sure the towers you use are protected better?" asked Sissy,

"I'll make a note of it, Sissy." said Jeremy.

"Jeremy!"

That sound came from the clone.

"Jeremy, get Aelita . . . **To** the tower! Destroy us . . . Before he can . . . **Re**gain . . . Control!" said the clone.

It's voice kept changing from Ulrich to Xana's voice.

"Jeremy, what does this mean?" asked Sissy, holding the clone down.

"It means the program in the tower I used has connected Ulrich to the clone like it was supposed to but now with Xana working the controls if the tower is deactivated than both the clone and Ulrich will be deleted." said Jeremy.

"But that can't be right. What about Xana?" asked Sissy,

"Xana's hasn't fully possessed Ulrich. If the tower is deactivated than Xana will only be hurled back into cyber space. Ulrich is linked to the clone now so if it goes than so does Ulrich. I need to warn Aelita and Odd.

If they can buy me some time I should be able to cancel the program." said Jeremy.

* * *

_"Aelita, listen carefully! You cannot deactivate the tower!"_

"Why not, Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

_"If you deactivate the tower than there is a chance that the tower's deactivation would kill Ulrich."_

Everyone froze and listened.

_"The has already linked Ulrich's mind to the clone. If the clone is destroyed than Ulrich goes with it."_

"Than what do we do?" asked Yumi.

_"I'll find a way. I promise."_

* * *

"No! Jeremy, tell them to deactivate the tower! I am not worth it!" said Ulrich. 

**"You see, Ulrich. Now it's over. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"**

Xana continued to laugh as his form grew in size again. He was once again the size of giant building that towered over Ulrich laughing as the storm that surrounded them turned blood red.


	26. Chapter 26

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Yumi ran through the corridors of Sector 5 panting. At the same time she was deflecting lasers from incoming Creepers and slaying them with one hit from her fans. She ran around the corner and bumped in someone. 

"Yumi!"

She looked to see Hiroki sitting on his back in front of her. She stood up and held out her hand. Hiroki took it and stood up.

"I guess you heard about what happened to Ulrich?" asked Hiroki,

"Yes. I hope Jeremy can find a way to save him."

* * *

"This is it, Xana! I am not about to let you win!" shouted Ulrich. 

**"Suicidal fool! Would you really doom us both?"**

Ulrich jumped back as a giant fist came down on him. He looked to see the gigantic towering form of Xana look down at him like he was an insect.

**"Oh, Ulrich . . . Would you really throw your life away like Franz Hopper did?"**

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ulrich,

**"Your incompetent friends failed to stop me from destroying the core so they failed to reunite your mind with your body, remember? It was because of them that my creator was left to his doom."**

Suddenly something appeared behind Ulrich. He looked to see the form of Franz Hopper floating without single sign of movement like he was being hung in the air without a rope.

"Hopper?" asked Ulrich.

Franz Hopper opened his eyes and looked down at Ulrich before he was engulfed in crimson electricity and faded into the storm. Ulrich looked on in horror and turned to see Xana's grinning face taunting him.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" 

Sissy who was keeping the clone of Ulrich pinned down was suddenly blasted by an endless wave of purple electricity. Jeremy looked back in horror to see Sissy hit the wall hard. The clone stood up and looked at Jeremy with its pupils being replaced by twin Eyes of Xana.

**"Here's Xana!"**

Jeremy jumped out of the chair as the clone released a stream of purple electricity which blasted the chair.

**"So, Jeremy, how do you plan to survive this attack? A) Aelita deactivating the tower, you just told her not to, B) your friends, I already have them scattered across Lyoko, C) Ulrich, let's just say he's having a little nightmare or is it D) None of the above!"**

Jeremy continued to run as the Xanafied clone fired wave after wave of purple electricity.

**"Dance little monkey, dance! Come on! At least try to put up a decent struggle before the end! I want us all to enjoy the last moment! HA-HA-HA-HA!"**

Jeremy ran into the elevator and looked back to see the clone's taunting smirk.

**"Go ahead, I'll give you a head start."**

Jeremy hit the button on the elevator and felt it begin to rise.

* * *

Aelita and Odd waited. Odd had finally disposed of all the monsters guarding it and he just sat on a rock and waited. They instantly moved when they heard a buzzing sound. They looked up to see a swarm of Hornets above them and jumped back to avoid barrage of lasers. Odd flipped back as a Hornet shot acid down and fired. 

However the shot missed and the Hornet fired which did not miss. The laser hit Odd in the chest and sent him flying back. Aelita fired several energy spheres that hit a few Hornets which exploded into deletion. Odd prepared to fire again when a giant shadow eclipsed his own.

He turned around to face a metallic hand curled in a fist coming at his face. He ducked and flipped back. He looked up to see a Knight holding a sword similar to William's over its shoulder.

"Laser Arrow!"

The Knight knocked the three incoming arrows away with one swing. It held up its blade as it started to glow before swinging again and released familiar crescent shaped energy wave like William used. Odd jumped and side dodged the energy wave with it only leaving a small burn on the tip of his tail. Odd kept firing his arrows but the Knight only used its sword as a shield to block the incoming attacks.

"Energy Field!" shouted Aelita.

She fired a pink ball of energy that flew at the Knight but the monster sped away trailing a black comet tail with a tint of red and the attack flew harmlessly away.

"That's Ulrich's Super Sprint!" said Odd,

"Xana's still has Ulrich's body Odd. He might have access to Ulrich's other abilities and used them modify his monsters." said Aelita.

The Knight ran at them again with its sword raised high. Aelita and Odd managed to jump back in time as the sword collided with the ground and left a fair sized crater.

* * *

Jeremy ran through the factory. He now had a black eye, his clothes were ripped, and he was sure one of his ribs were about to crack. He was carrying a bucket of water as he waited at the assembly line for the clone. However the clone phased through the wall behind him. 

**"Peek-a-boo, I see you."**

Jeremy turned around and sent the water in the bucket flying that successfully hit the clone leaving it drenched in water. The clone only smirked before grabbing Jeremy and slamming him onto the conveyor belt. Jeremy grunted in pain and crawled over to one of the machines.

**"This was your last plan? A little bucket of water?"**

"No this was!"

Jeremy grabbed two wires and held them up in front of the clone. Jeremy jumped and landed on the clone and placed the wires on the clone's torso. The clone's body lit up with electricity as it traveled through the clone's body.

* * *

"Yes! That's it, Jeremy! Go for it! Now it ends here!" said Ulrich. 

**"So we die for nothing. Or should I say you and this specter dies. I did not fully possess you so it does not matter. Even though you could kill me here in your mind Ulrich it does not apply to the clone.**

**I hope Yumi can manage when she finds out you literally faded out."**

Xana laughed.

"I don't think so. You reminded me of something just now, Xana."

**"Oh, and what's that?"**

"My friends are always ready to help."

Suddenly Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, Hiroki, Sissy, even William appeared around him. However he was only looking at the one figure in front of him. Yumi smiled and he smiled back. They all started glowing and Ulrich started to grow until he was the same size as Xana.

The storm lit up as colors flashed all around Ulrich and Xana. The super program was suddenly being pushed back by a great force.

**"What . . . What is happening? This . . . . Can't be!"**

"It's time for you to get out of my mind and stay out, Xana. Be sure to take good care of my body because that's what I plan on getting next."

Xana yelled as he was sucked into a vortex and shot out of Ulrich's mind.

* * *

Aelita and Odd stepped back as the Knight prepared to attack again when they heard something yelling from inside the tower. They looked to see Xana thrown out of the tower as it turned white again. Ulrich stepped out of the tower and smiled. 

"Super Flash!"

The Knight only had half a second to look before it was sliced in half. Xana got up on his legs and growled at the Lyoko Warrior.

**"This isn't over, Ulrich. Even if you win today I will be back!"**

Xana jumped over the edge and turned into a black cloud that vanished into the digital sea.

"And I'll be waiting." muttered Ulrich.

"Ulrich!"

He turned and something black tackled him and sent him flying onto the ground. He looked up to see Yumi smiling down at him.

"Is that your official greeting now?" asked Ulrich.

Yumi only giggled.

_"Return to the past now!"_

* * *

Everyone was in front of the computer as Jeremy typed. 

"Okay everyone let's try it again." said Jeremy.

He pressed ENTER and a specter came out of the computer. It shifted into Ulrich's form and the specter looked around.

"Well is it you, Ulrich?" asked Jeremy,

"Say something." said Odd.

"Something." said Ulrich,

"It's him. He's the only one who would ever steal my jokes." said Odd.

Everyone laughed.


	27. Chapter 27

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Jeremy typed at the computer as he looked at the screen. It showed a map of the Digital Network and at the center was the Cyber Net Base that served as Xana's virtual command center. He heard a knock at the door. 

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Ulrich while controlling the polymorphic clone from the activated tower on Lyoko.

"Hey, Ulrich, what's up?" asked Jeremy,

"There's something that I need you to help me with." said Ulrich.

"And what would that be?" asked Jeremy,

"There's something out there in the Digital Sea. I don't know what it is but I caught up a glimpse of it when I shared Xana's mind. A whole bunch of images of something and some kind of password." said Ulrich.

"What was the password?" asked Jeremy,

"It's 'After burn'." said Ulrich.

"Okay. So it's a password to something you saw when you and Xana shared minds." said Ulrich.

"Yeah. He learned a lot about us. A lot more than he already knew. Like several projects you have been working it. I learned something else.

It looked like a Replica but there was something different about it." said Ulrich.

"How was it different?" asked Jeremy.

Ulrich closed his eye and tried to remember.

"I'm sorry but I can't remember much. There was a lot going on if you remember when Xana and I shared minds." said Ulrich,

"Believe me I know how you feel. But this kind of information doesn't sound like it should be ignored. If we can find it we might be able to get Xana on the defense for once." said Jeremy.

"But we don't even know where to look. I might know where to look but only in the Digital Network. What happens if Xana finds out what we're looking for?" asked Ulrich,

"I don't think we'll have to worry." said Jeremy.

Ulrich looked at Jeremy with a questioning look.

* * *

The Factory 

"Okay, everyone. Here's the plan. While sharing Xana's mind Ulrich discovered something. It was mostly random images but there was something there.

Ulrich said it was like a Replica but it was different than the others. From what he said the Replica has even more security than any other Replica we encountered. That said it's obvious why I gathered everyone." said Jeremy,

"You want us to go into the Digital Network with the Skid and find this sector?" asked Odd.

"Not exactly, Odd. We can't afford to let Xana know what we're up to. That's why only Ulrich and Aelita will be heading for the mystery Replica. As for the rest of you it's time we take the fight to Xana.

You guys will take the rest of the pods and try to attack the Cyber Net Base itself." said Jeremy.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

* * *

"Comm Skid to Nav Skid, do you read me?" asked Aelita, 

"Loud and clear, Aelita." said Yumi.

"Loud and clear, Aelita." said Sissy,

"This is so awesome." said Hiroki.

"You got that right." said Odd.

_"Everyone remember you need to attack Xana's Cyber Base so he'll be distracted from Ulrich finding what ever he saw in Xana's mind."_

"Understood." said Aelita,

"Got it." said Odd.

"Let's get this show on the road!" said Hiroki,

"Don't be too excited, Hiroki," scolded Yumi.

"We have ignition. Powering Vertical. Lift off!" said Aelita.

The Skid flew out of the hangar and flew into the tunnel. It came out of Sector Five and floated over the Digital Sea. It hovered for a few seconds and plunged into the Digital Sea.

* * *

In the Cyber Net Base William walked into the chamber of command while Xana sat on his throne looking out into the Digital Sea. 

"Master Xana, it seems that the Warriors are planning to attack the command base." said William.

**"As I recall you failed to stop them from keeping this base secret."**

"I don't believe it really matters, Master, since the problem remains." said William.

The screen showed the Skidbladnir in the Network heading for the Cyber Net Base.

"They started attacking before we were ready." said William.

**"Than I suggest you get ready, William."**

William bowed and Xana looked at the screen.

**'Wait a minute. There's only five of them. Where's Ulrich? He would never skip a chance to attack my stronghold and regain his body."**

Xana got up and the entire Digital Network turned blood red. Xana released a beam of red light from his eyes that allowed him to see all over the Digital Network. His eyes spotted a lone pod that was part of the Skid swimming the Digital Sea.

**"Now where is he going? Oh, so that's were he's heading. Well then I'll just have to greet him. Deal with the others here, William, I've got a guest coming. I've got a guest to welcome."**

With that said Xana disappeared into a red and black cloud that vanished.


	28. Chapter 28

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Aelita piloted the Skid through the submerged underwater city that was the World Wide Information Network. So far the sea was calm ocean blue that meant it was safe. At east for now. 

"So what do you think Ulrich will find?" asked Odd,

"We don't know, Odd, that's why we're doing this. So Ulrich can discover whatever it is that he saw when he and Xana shared minds." said Yumi.

"I'm just surprised Ulrich never went mad when he was poking around inside Xana's head." said Odd,

"He has you for a roommate, Odd. I think it will take a little more than Xana to drive him mad." said Sissy.

"Ouch! Nice one, Sissy." said Hiroki,

"Hey, you want me to tell Milly about that big crush you have on her?" asked Odd.

"What?!" shouted Hiroki.

Everyone laughed.

The laughing ended when the calm blue sea turned blood red. They all looked ahead to see four Kongres and William piloting a more evil version of the Skid.

"We got company!" said Sissy,

"Detach!" said Aelita.

She pressed five levers that came back down as she released pressure. The four pods attached to the Skid detached from their appropriate spots as they flew out to meet the enemy. The four Kongres swim through the blood colored water as they fire on Yumi, Odd, Sissy, and Hiroki while William attacks Aelita.

Odd rolled out of the way as a Kongres fired a barrage of lasers at him. He led the Kongres through a series of passages. Odd quickly saw a small gap that he flew through and then headed upward. The Kongres failed to notice in time as Odd flew back down and fired two torpedoes that hit it in the back causing it to explode.

Yumi noticed a Kongres on Hiroki's tail and she flew right above Hiroki's and fired torpedoes that hit the Kongres in the mouth which exploded from the inside.

"Stay away from me brother!" shouted Yumi.

Aelita piloted the Skid out of the barrage of fire that William released. The possessed boy smirked as his computer locked onto Aelita and prepared to fire. Suddenly Sissy, Yumi, Hiroki, and Odd appeared behind William's ship and fired. The sub exploded into nothing causing William to vanish.

"All right!" said Odd,

"We did it!" said Hiroki.

"Everyone, head to the Cyber Net Base. Ulrich needs the Skid to enter whatever he saw." said Aelita.

"Roger." said Odd,

"Roger." said Hiroki.

"Understood." said Yumi.

They all headed to the Cyber Net Base while Aelita turned in the direction of Ulrich's sub.

"Turbo Boost!" shouted Aelita.

She hit the accelerator that increased her speed as she headed to the rendezvous point. It wasn't long before the others arrived at Xana's virtual command center.

"Hey, everyone! Can Xana come out to play?" asked Odd.

A gathering of Bloks and Kankrelats answered his questions as they charged lasers and unleashed a fire storm of lasers. Everyone ducked but the lasers were aimed at the Skid instead of them.

"We must not let them destroy the Skid!" shouted Aelita.

Odd jumped out and sniped at the enemy force with his Laser Arrows. Yumi threw her fans and deflected shots with them as she helped reduce the welcoming committee. Aelita and Hiroki fired several shots while Sissy blocked lasers with her staff. Even though the enemy group was numerous it was only a matter of time before they were all eliminated.

They ran through the red colored brick hallway as they searched for Xana. As they ran they encountered Kankrelat scouts and Blok patrols. They knocked the door with with the giant Eye of Xana on it and entered the chamber of command. Except there was one problem.

There was no Xana.

"Xana's not here." said Yumi,

"Well then where is he?" asked Sissy.

"Out to greet your friends." said a voice.

They looked back to see William at the door with his giant sword in his hand holding it over his shoulder. Kankrelats scuttled into the room, followed by spindly Crabs from the open door and Megatanks that appeared behind the Lyoko Warriors.

"The plan is to keep you all here while Xana deals with his two guests." said William.

One Kankrelat charged its laser and fired. The Warriors dodged but every monster in the room fired. The Lyoko Warriors found themselves jumping everywhere and blocking lasers at every turn. Sissy spun her staff rapidly as blocked lasers and side-stepped the elliptical lasers of the Megatanks.

She deflected two more shots and ducked under a third. For now all she could do was block lasers. Yumi was having better luck as she blocked with one fan and threw another at the hoard of monsters. She rolled as another laser was fired and launched her fan.

One managed to slice through a Kankrelat causing a small explosion as the fan returned to Yumi's hand.

Hiroki was using his Flame Shield to block incoming lasers as the monster managed to surround the Warriors. Williams smirked as the carnage continued.

* * *

Ulrich sat on his pod as he waited for Aelita. In front of him was a gigantic sphere like Lyoko but he could not enter it yet. 

"Ulrich!"

He opened his eyes as he heard a familiar voice. He looked to see Aelita's pod heading towards him.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting." said Aelita.

"Don't worry about that. Let's just hurry and and input the password." said Ulrich.

Aelita nodded and hooked the Skip up to the entrance.

"Entering password . . . 'After Burn'. Code Accepted." said Aelita.

The Eye of Xana faded and the door opened. Ulrich attached his pod to Aelita's and they flew into the Replica. When they came out of the Digital Sea their sight was covered by red and orange colored view. This was not a Replica at all.

It looked like a brand new sector!

The ground was red with boulders sharing the same color. They looked to see Volcanoes that were active and spewing smoke and lava. Unlike the other sectors the Digital Sea looked bright orange that made it look just like lava.

"So this is what I saw in Xana's mind. A brand new sector." said Ulrich,

"Yes but what is it for?" asked Aelita.

They looked around for a little while. They stopped when they heard a clapping sound. They looked behind them to see Xana sitting on a rock like a throne looking at them with a smirk.

**"What a pleasant surprise. Ulrich, Aelita, welcome to the Volcano Sector."**

As he finished a new gigantic creature appeared beside him. It resembled a Creeper but it was much larger and more muscular. The muscle is visible making it appear as if the creature had no skin where it should be. In the place of the Creeper's stick like legs the creature had two large fingered arms.

Its torso was dominated by a large visible ribcage with arms growing from either side of the top. The head was attached by a thick muscled neck and it had a large beek. Just like the Creeper the creature had a tail but it was much larger and it had a stinger. Some new monsters appeared as well.

Tarantulas that were colored black with their legs replaced heavily modified. Where the guns were supposed to be now there was legs that were similar to the Crabs but wider and smaller. They also saw black colored Kankrelats that surrounded them.

**"This place is where I have created and tested various new monsters to use against you. So now that you are here let's test them out!"**

* * *

The new monsters in this chapter come from Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity as does the Volcano Sector. I do not own any of these. 


	29. Chapter 29

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

"Energy Field!" 

Aelita fired an energy ball right at the creature however did not even flinch as the energy ball slammed into it. It fired lasers from its beak forcing her to take to the air as she dodged laser after laser. The Scorpion than slammed its tail into the ground near Ulrich as he deflected a few more laser shots with his swords. The Scorpion roared and charged at them like a bull.

"Super Flash!" shouted Ulrich.

Ulrich quickly moved out of the way of the rampaging monster leaving a gold comet tail. The Scorpion chased after the golden flash. Ulrich looked behind to see the Scorpion chasing him like a wolf closing in on it's prey. Ulrich looked ahead to see a giant wall in front of him and he ran even faster.

He ran up the wall and Scorpion rammed head first into the wall.

"As Odd would say; that had to hurt." said Aelita.

The Scorpion roared and pulled its head out of the wall. It looked up to see Ulrich smirking down at it from the top of the cliff. The Scorpion roared and slammed its tail into the wall, shaking the cliff and causing Ulrich to lose his balance. The Scorpion than fired a laser that hit Ulrich in the chest sending him falling off the cliff and into the Digital Sea.

However Aelita flew in and grabbed Ulrich at the last second as she lifted him to safety.

"Thanks, Aelita." said Ulrich,

"No problem." replied the pink haired girl.

A roar caused them to look back as the Scorpion and sprung at them like a kangaroo and caught Aelita under one of its giant feet. Aelita looked up to see the Scorpion looking down at her snarling in delight. It raised its tail and sent it straight down to Aelita's head. There was a sudden flash as Ulrich blocked the tail with both of his swords but the extreme force caused one of his swords to crack.

Aelita managed to slip one of her hands out from under the giant food that pinned her to the ground and pointed at the Scorpion's face.

"Energy Field!"

The monster screeched in pain and kicked Aelita which sent her flying and landing hard on the dark red surface of the sector. Ulrich ran in for another attack and jumped upon the Scorpion. He started to slash the monster away at the back which caused the Scorpion to run around and started thrashing. It jumped up and down like a bull trying to get an unwelcome passenger off its back.

Ulrich ducked as the Scorpion's tail flew at him but that was all the monster needed as it shook Ulrich off it. Ulrich landed on the ground the Scorpion ran at him like a delighted dog. It fired more lasers from its beak which Ulrich dodged and deflected. The Scorpion dashed for Ulrich when a pink orb flew through air and rammed into its face causing its body to pulse with pink energy for a second.

The Scorpion looked to see Aelita with her hands held out and ready for another attack. The Scorpion roared and leapt at her.

"Super Flash!" shouted Ulrich.

He jumped onto the Scorpion and dug his swords deep into the monster's skin. The creature roared as it tried to shake Ulrich off again. Aelita fired wave after wave of energy orbs until the Scorpion finally collapsed. Ulrich jumped in time to see it explode into hundreds digital pieces resembling organs before vanishing.

A clapping sound was heard and they looked to see Xana still sitting on the same boulder he was on when they arrived in the Volcano Sector.

**"What an impressive display you two. I must thank you for testing out my Scorpion for me. So what are you looking for Ulrich?"**

"A way to defeat you once for all." said Ulrich.

Xana jumped off the boulder and landed gracefully on his feet. He smirked and put his hands behind his back.

**"It's going to take more than just simple attitude against me. Besides leaving your friends back in the Cyber Net Base was not the best course of action."**

"And why is that?" asked Aelita.

Xana silently chuckled. He closed his eye and sent a telepathic message to William.

**"ACTIVATE THE WEAPON."**

* * *

William received his master's message and smiled evilly. As the others fought the remaining monsters William walked over to Xana's throne and placed his hand on the interface appearing the armrest of the chair. 

CODE: XANA

The entire Cyber Net Base began to glow brighter red. Everyone fell to the ground as the ground began to shake. The room began to change form. The walls shifted, pillars rose from the ground that looked like Lyoko Towers, and the room was even larger than before.

The built in view screen now showed the holo-map of Lyoko and then the Eye of Xana appeared over the map. Everyone looked in awe as a pyramid rose from the floor and the Eye of Xana was on it. Jeremy watched from the lab and gasped.

_"Everyone listen! I've just run a scan on that thing and it's a giant a laser cannon! Lyoko has been targeted! If you don't stop William than Lyoko will be destroyed again!"_

* * *

Ulrich and Aelita heard what Jeremy said and gasped. Xana smirked at their reactions. 

**"You didn't think I would not know of what Ulrich learned when we shared minds? Now all that is left is draw power for the cannon and good bye Lyoko!"**

On cue Jeremy's super scan detected an activated tower in the Volcano Sector.

_"Ulrich, Aelita, you need to deactivate that tower. It's drawing energy from an unknown source. Once that cannon is fully charged it will rip through Lyoko like tissue paper."_

That sentence got them all ready to fight. Xana smirked and clapped his hands. The activated tower was seen and Ulrich and Aelita got ready to fight their way to it. Seven Tarantulas appeared in front of it. Normally it would be just like any other Lyoko battle but this was different the instant Ulrich and Aelita noticed something different.

Four of the Tarantulas were the same as the onces they always fought but the other three were darker versions of the originals. The original Tarantulas were mostly colored silver but these new ones were completely black everywhere. Ulrich and Aelita then looked to see Kankrelats front of them but were dark-themed variations of the standard Kankrelats.

"Energy Field!"

Aelita fired several energy orbs that streaked towards the enemy monsters. However the monsters dodged by side-stepping them. One of them even managed to back-flip and land on its legs. The monsters responded by firing lasers which Ulrich blocked.

However one of the managed to hit Aelita between the eyes that sent her flying back wards.

"Super Flash!" shouted Ulrich.

He charged the Dark Kankrelats dodging lasers that came his way and swung his swords. One managed to slice through a monster causing it to explode into nothing. He jumped as the remaining monster fired at him.

"Energy Field!" shouted Aelita.

A pink energy struck struck one of the Dark Kankrelats in the center. However another Dark Kankrelat fired and struck her in the chest.

_"Aelita you lost twenty life points with each hit. You've only got sixty life points left."_

The remaining monsters trained their lasers on Aelita.

"Super Flash!" shouted Ulrich.

He ran and blocked the lasers with his swords. And luckily one of the lasers was reflected off of his swords and flew right back into the center of one of the monsters. There were now only two Dark Kankrelats left and Ulrich and Aelita got ready.

"Super Flash!"

"Energy Field!"

A golden blurred figure slashed through one monster and pink orb blasted the other one. Both exploded at the same time. With the Dark Kankrelats vanquished they both took towards the red glowing tower.

"Jeremy, we need vehicles." said Ulrich.

_"On the way."_

The Overbike and the Overwing appeared in front of them. They jumped onto their vehicles and headed for the tower. The Tarantulas saw them coming and raised their guns. As they neared the Tarantulas fired an endless barrage of lasers that Ulrich and Aelita avoided.

"Energy Field!"

A pink orb hit one of the original Tarantulas and it exploded. Ulrich aimed the Overbike at the monsters and accelerated towards them. He took out one of his swords and blocked the lasers being fired at him. Just as the Overbike neared Ulrich jumped and the vehicle rammed into a Tarantula that sent it flying off the cliff and into the Digital Sea.

Ulrich landed on the back of another Tarantula and plunged his sword into the Eye. It exploded and Ulrich jumped back as he avoided lasers from the remaining monsters. The Dark Tarantulas aimed at Aelita who was still on the Overwing and fired.

"Energy Field!"

Aelita released several energy orbs that streaked down towards the Tarantulas but as they neared a red shield appeared around the Dark Tarantulas that blocked the attack.

"What? Jeremy, those dark Tarantulas have a shield around them that blocked my energy field!" said Aelita.

_"Just keep attacking them, Aelita. Those shields are just like the shield layers around Core of Lyoko. Keep attacking the shields will fall."_

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich moved out of the way as the monster fired more lasers.

"Energy Field!"

Aelita kept firing energy orbs down at the monsters to destroy the shields but a laser managed to hit the Overwing and sent it crashing down to the ground below. Aelita deployed her angel wings and flew into the air to avoid crashing with her vehicle. She flew through the air avoiding lasers and firing energy orbs down at the enemies. One shield finally collapsed leaving that Dark Tarantula vulnerable to attack.

Ulrich ran forward and stabbed it in the Eye. It exploded but the last original Tarantula fired and he got hit in the chest. It sent him flying back but he landed on his feet and jumped out of the way as the monsters let loose another barrage of lasers.

"Energy Field!"

A pink orb hit the monster and now only two Dark Tarantulas were left. Aelita fired several more energy orbs that made the shields collapse and Ulrich stabbed the Eye on their backs causing them to explode. Aelita ran into the tower and traveled the upper platform while preforming a back-flip halfway to the platform before landing on it. She placed her hand on the interface and waited.

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

"Tower Deactivated."

The screens fell to the pit of darkness and the tower turned from red to white.

"We've foiled you again Xana." said Ulrich.

Xana appeared beside the tower and smirked.

**"Oh, really?"**

Jeremy was watching when he noticed the laser cannon at the Cyber Net Base was still being charged.

_"Aelita, Ulrich, something's wrong. The cannon is still being charged!"_

**"That's because I wanted you to deactivate the tower."**

"What?" asked Ulrich, very surprised.

Xana chuckled evilly.

_"I understand now. When a tower is deactivated it releases a huge amount of energy. Xana was not draining energy from an unknown source he is using the discharged energy to power the laser!"_

**"And now say good-bye to Lyoko!"**

* * *

The Cyber Net Base basically looked like Sector 5 but now it had undergone some changes. The top half of it exploded revealing a giant laser cannon concealed with a metallic dome attached to the lower half of the base. William watched as the view screen showed the cannon targeting Lyoko.

* * *

Jeremy looked in horror as the a window popped up showing the holo-map of Lyoko with the Eye of Xana appearing over it. 

"Everyone, Lyoko has been targeted. I got to work fast!" said Jeremy.

* * *

The cannon started to glow bright red as energy pulsed through it. Xana smirked evilly. 

**"Fire when ready."**

The fully charged laser fired a beam of red light that streaked through the Digital Sea and aimed at Lyoko. Just as it almost hit a green transparent sphere appeared around Lyoko which the laser collided with. If anyone was on Lyoko right now they would have knocked off balance by a massive earthquake. It lasted only a few seconds but it seemed to last much longer to those who were watching.

"What happened?" asked Odd.

_"That was me, Odd. I activated a tower and diverted enough energy from Sector 5 to create a barrier. Listen you must take out that cannon. One last hit and the barrier will collapse and Lyoko will be destroyed."_


	30. Chapter 30

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

William smirked evilly as the cannon started to charge itself again. A timer appeared on the view screen and on Jeremy's computer. 

FIRING SEQUENCE WILL COMMENCE IN: 0:09:59:30

The numbers started to decrease.

_"We only have about ten minutes before the laser is fully charged and fires again!"_

With that said everyone got in fighting positions as they needed to hurry and save Lyoko.

"How do we stop the countdown, Xana?" asked Ulrich, pointing his sword at the evil AI.

**"Just like how Aelita deactivates my towers. Insert the Lyoko code and the cannon will shut down. However the only reason I am telling you this is because you won't get to the cannon in time."**

"Aelita, take the Skid and get the Cyber Base. Shut down the cannon before we lose Lyoko!" said Ulrich.

Aelita nodded and activated her wings before taking off towards the Skid. She transported into the Skid and prepared to take off.

**"I don't think so."**

With that said strange monsters resembling mosquitoes with Hornet like wings with a leg and claw-like foot holding small red orbs. They hovered above the Skid and dropped the orbs. They attached themselves to the hull and glowed red before exploding. Aelita gasped as she held onto the controls trying to keep herself steady as the explosions rocked the sub.

"Jeremy, the Skid won't take much more hits like that." said Aelita.

_"Try diverting more energy to the shields, Aelita. You need to get out of there."_

The Mosquitoes held another bomb in their claw like feet as they prepared to attack again.

"Super Flash!"

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Ulrich ran with full speed as he prepared to jump when Xana appeared in front of him and launched a knee into Ulrich's gut that sent his feet of the ground. Xana then spun around with a viscous kick that sent Ulrich flying back.

**"We still have a score to settle."**

"Taking off!"

Xana turned back to see the Skid plunge into the Digital Sea. He snorted and turned back to Ulrich who had just stood back up with his swords ready for action. Xana then charged and swung his sword vertically which Ulrich dodged by leaping back and attack by swinging his swords in a downward arc. Xana blocked the attack and swung for Ulrich's head which Ulrich managed to parry.

Ulrich moved into to stab Xana but one should always be careful when facing the demonic AI.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Just as Ulrich's sword was inches away Xana disappeared in a flash of red electricity. He felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned around only given enough time to see Xana punch him in the gut and send him flying back. Ulrich looked to see Xana prepared to land another blow and quickly moved out of the way with only two words.

"Super Flash!"

Before Xana's blow landed Ulrich disappeared by leaping out of the way while leaving a solid gold 'tail' behind. Xana looked to see Ulrich land about ten feet away and raised his sword.

"Super Flash!"

**"Lighting Sprint!"**

Soon enough the two fights were in an all out race. They left nothing but comet tails one colored gold and the other was electric red. They were completely equal in speed as they were right beside each other neck to neck. They pulled out their swords and slashed at each other too fast for the human eye to see.

Then everything seemed to slow as they stopped on one foot and leapt into the air. They swung their blades at each other back forth, slash, parry, thrust and many more sword techniques. They landed on the ground and continued their race until they came a stop and jumped back from each other. They ran at each other and slashed before jumping back and repeating the previous action.

They even threw in a few punches and kicks while fighting. Ulrich threw his left sword but Xana swung his own blade and shattered the sword easily. He then quickly struck Ulrich with dull edge of his blade sending the samurai flying back. Ulrich sat up on his back and glared the digital entity standing above him.

Xana lightly chuckled as he enjoyed the look Ulrich was giving him.

**"What's the matter? Don't like me anymore?"**

Ulrich flipped back and held out his remaining sword. Xana smirked and held his sword out in ready position. Suddenly Ulrich's sword started to glow light blue. Xana raised an eyebrow as the blade started to glow.

"Thunder Blade!"

Ulrich swung his blade and it released a blue energy wave similar to the one Xana equipped Ulrich with when he was disguised as Franz Hopper. Xana ducked under the energy held his sword out.

**"Lighting Arc!"**

Xana swung his blade and released a red colored energy wave that Ulrich jumped and avoided by only a few inches. The two charged at each other again and slashed at each other like mad men.

* * *

Aelita piloted the Skid through the Digital Sea at full speed. 

"Jeremy, how long before the cannon fires again?"

Jeremy looked at the screen.

FIRING SEQUENCE WILL COMMENCE IN: 0:05:06:03

_"You only have about five minutes left before the cannon fires again, Aelita. You better be careful, Xana will do everything he can to stop you."_

Speak of th devil, Aelita saw three Kongres in front of her firing lasers. She dodged and fired several torpedoes that blasted the ugly eels into digital pieces.

"Turbo Boost!"

Aelita watched as the Skid accelerated on her command to reach the Cyber Net Base soon. Time was against them.

* * *

"Odd, let's deal with our friends here. I don't think Aelita really needs a welcoming committee." said Yumi, 

"Right. Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd.

Several arrows streaked towards the remaining monsters and hit them in the center of the Eye causing them to explode into deletion. William waited at Xana's throne as the countdown continued to decrease. Soon Lyoko would be gone for good and Xana would be victorious. Odd ran at William when a grey figure appeared in front of him.

Odd looked up to see a Putty deliver a punch straight into his face. The force of the impact sent Odd off his feet and flying back. As usual the Putties' movements were wobbly which made them unpredictable and dangerous. The first Putty charged at them recklessly with its right fist ready to strike when Yumi caught the hand and held it in place.

"Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd.

His arrow hit the Eye of Xana on the monster's chest causing it to explode leaving nothing but a pile of grey soup like-goo. However the goo came to life and started to take shape. The substance shifted into two Putties that came to life. Yumi jumped and launched a dragon kick that shattered a Putty when it hit the Eye.

A Putty ran up to Sissy and launched a punch but Sissy launched a side-kick which sent the Putty flying to the ground.

"Fire Ball!" shouted Hiroki.

He shot several fire balls that blasted several Putties however no matter how many they destroyed two would only take their place. Yumi kneed a Putty in the chest which shattered its body but two more started to grow. A Putty ran up and delivered an upper cut to Yumi's chin that knocked her into the air and she landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Jeremy we need an idea! No matter how many of them we destroy two more just take it's place." said Yumi.

_"Remember, Yumi Xana created them by combining the designs with his monster and the designs for the Marabounta. We need to locate the original Putty."_

"Easier said than done, Einstein!" said Odd.

_"I'll run a scan to see if the original Putty is in the base. I am willing to bet anything that the original Putty is in that base."_

Jeremy typed away at the computer as he scanned the base for the original Putty. Meanwhile Aelita soon enough arrived at the Cyber Net Base. She docked the Skid at the platform and teleported outside of the sub and onto the platform. She ran through the halls when three Creepers appeared around the hall and fired at her.

She held two energy orbs that blocked the lasers and hid behind the corner of the hall. She fired several energy orbs that hit the Creepers and they exploded. Jeremy waited and then computer started beeping. Jeremy looked to see the scan had locked onto one of the Putties of the room.

_"Odd, I found the original Putty. It's right at the back of the room producing more Putties. I'm already uploading a virus into one of your arrows. You have to hurry and destroy it. _

_There's already almost a hundred Putties in the room alone."_

"You got it, Einstein." said Odd.

He jumped forward and headed to where Jeremy had directed him to go. He looked to see more and more Putties coming from the back of the room. He looked to see a Putty standing next to William that split into two and one headed into the battle. He looked at the view screen to see the countdown.

FIRING SEQUENCE WILL COMMENCE IN: 0:03:24:02

"Hey, boys!" shouted Odd.

William and the Putty turned from the view screen to see Odd pointing his arm at the monster.

"Laser Arrow!"

The arrow streaked through the air and hit the Eye of Xana in the center of the Putty's chest head on. William scoffed as it would only regenerate but his smirk vanished when the Putty along all of its copies started to glow red. The Putties stopped fighting and started to pulse. The original Putty held its arms out horizontally from its body with its fist closed.

It slammed its fist together with Odd's head between them. Odd's life points dropped to zero forcing him to devirtualize. Suddenly all of the Putties exploded leaving only the Lyoko Warriors and William left in the room.

"Well, that was fun." said Hiroki.

Aelita ran into the giant room and saw a giant pyramid in the center of the command chamber. An interface appeared right below the Eye of Xana and Aelita ran for it.

"Super Smoke!"

William vanished in a cloud of black smoke and reappeared in front of Aelita. He held his giant cleaver out and pointed it at her. He swung his blade down at her.

"Flame Shield!"

A dome of fire appeared around Aelita that blocked William's sword. Yumi swung her fans which William evaded by blocking with his sword. Sissy used her webbing which hit William's knees. She pulled and knocked William off his feet.

"Energy Field!"

One hit and William vanished into a cloud of black and red smoke.

"Thanks, everyone." said Aelita.

She walked over to the interface.

FIRING SEQUENCE WILL COMMENCE IN: 0:00:05:33

* * *

**"Lightning Arc!"**

The explosion of red lightning sent Ulrich flying back. Ulrich was on his knees as he looked and glared at Xana. The virtual fiend smirked evilly.

* * *

Aelita placed her hand on the screen. 

0:00:04:12

AELITA

0:00:03:44

CODE

0:00:02:02

LYOKO

0:00:01:00

FIRING SEQUENCE ABORTED

The cannon stopped glowing and the Digital Sea turned from it blood red back to ocean blue. The base suddenly started shaking.

_"Materialization Yumi."_

_"Materialization Sissy."_

_"Materialization Hiroki."_

_"Materialization Aelita."_

They all vanished as the Cyber Net Base exploded. Ulrich smirked and vanished as he logged out and was sent back into the real world with his specter.


	31. Chapter 31

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

_"Ulrich, I'm sending the Overbike!"_

Ulrich hopped onto the Overbike and drove towards the tower. They were in the Desert Area once again fighting through hoards of Xana's monsters to get to the activated tower. This time Xana decided to give them a challenge by sending twelve Crabs, twenty Bloks, fifteen Tarantulas, ten Hornets, and three Megatanks. The Lyoko Warriors parked their vehicles behind some large boulders so they could not be spotted.

"Well, this won't be a walk in the park." muttered Ulrich,

"No kidding. Jeremy, any idea what Xana has done yet?" asked Yumi.

_"No and that's the problem. No possession's at the school, no electrical disturbances, if it wasn't for the activated tower than there would be no evidence that Xana is attacking." _

"So what's the plan?" asked Sissy,

"We need an opening so either Ulrich or Aelita can get into the tower. We do that by splitting up. Get the monsters' attention and try to lure them away from the tower." said Yumi.

"I might be able to help with that. Triplicate!" shouted Ulrich.

He instantly created two copies. One got on the Overbike and one stood ready to run out.

"These two can only distract them for a few minutes." said Ulrich.

"Everyone get ready to split up and distract the monsters. Like I said if we split we should be able to create an opening." said Yumi.

Everyone nodded. Odd got on his Overboard, Aelita stood ready to deploy her wings, Yumi and Hiroki got on the Overwing, while Sissy and Ulrich were ready to make a run for it.

"Ready . . . Now!" shouted Ulrich.

Everyone jumped out of hiding and were instantly caught in a shower of lasers. Yumi blocked several lasers when she a hit on her kneecap. She threw her fans and hit the offending Blok.

"Take that, Xana!" shouted Yumi.

Aelita flew through the air as she avoided lasers from Hornets above her and Tarantulas below her. The Ulrich clone that was diving the Overbike aimed the vehicle towards the monsters. A Tarantula managed to destroyed the copy but the Overbike rammed into it which flying over the edge and into the Digital Sea.

"Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd.

Odd shot four arrows that destroyed two Hornets. He flew around on the Overboard avoiding lasers from Hornets and Tarantulas. Ulrich and his last copy ran towards two Crabs and landed on each one.

"Impact!" shouted Ulrich.

He plunged his sword into the Eye with his copy following his actions and jumped off as the monsters shattered into digital bits. A Megatank opened its shell and fired at Ulrich's duplicate and easily destroyed it. Hiroki blasted a Blok with a Fire Ball when he was hit in the back by a Tarantula.

_"Hiroki you lost twenty life points with each hit. Only forty Life points left."_

Sissy stabbed a Crab and watched it explode when she was hit in the back by a Blok.

_"Sissy, you lost twenty life points."_

"Take this, Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd.

He fired three arrows and managed to destroyed two Bloks but he was hit in the back by a Megatank.

_"Thirty life points left, Odd!"_

"Energy Orbs!"

Aelita flew in fired an energy orb that destroyed the Megatank that hit Odd. However she was hit in the wings by a Hornet which caused her to fall to the ground. She held two energy orbs between her hands and blocked incoming lasers. She quickly sang a note that caused the ground beneath several monsters to disappear.

The enemy group lost ten Bloks, seven Tarantulas, two Megatanks, and six Crabs.

"Great work, Aelita. That'll make things easier." said Yumi.

"Triangulate!" shouted Ulrich.

Ulrich ran in a triangle formation with while creating two copies around the last Megatank. The confused monster fired its laser and destroyed a duplicate. Ulrich and his last duplicate ran for it but the Megatank was fast and fired at the other duplicate. Ulrich grabbed one of his swords and threw it back which plunged into the Eye causing the monster to explode.

The sword flipped through the air and the handle landed right in Ulrich's hand.

"Flame Rain!" shouted Hiroki.

A shower of fire balls came down and destroyed the last few Crabs. Sissy flipped over a Blok and stabbed it in the Eye with her staff. So far there were only five Bloks, eight Tarantulas, and eight Hornets left. Odd fired several more arrows that hit three more Hornets. A Tarantula leveled its guns on Odd and fired.

Odd was sent back as the lasers blasted his life points down to zero sending him back into the real world. Yumi flipped over that Tarantula and sent her fans out which sliced through its guns and then sliced through the Eye. Ulrich ran in front of her and blocked incoming lasers from the remaining Hornets.

"Energy Field!" shouted Aelita.

One energy orb hit a Hornet and destroyed it.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran and jumped over the remaining monsters and headed into the tower. He did the same thing Aelita did whenever she entered and activated tower. He traveled to the upper platform and looked at the interface. He placed his hand on the screen.

ULRICH

CODE: LYOKO

The tower turned from red to white and the remaining monsters retreated.

* * *

"So that would be about the third Xana attack we've stopped this week. So far none of the attacks have caused any damage at all." said Jeremy. 

They were gathered in the lab since there was no school today.

"I never really noticed, Jeremy. I lost count of the number of monsters Xana has been sending our way." said Odd,

"Well, we still need to destroy the Replicas that Xana created. Destroy them and we'll will be probably be able to finally get rid of Xana." said Jeremy.

"Here's a question, what about the Volcano Sector we discovered a week ago? Xana said it himself it's where he was creating new weapons to use against us. We should explore the new sector and see if we can learning anything about it." said Ulrich,

"Ulrich has a point, Jeremy. The Volcano Sector is not like any Replica we've encountered before. It might have some useful information about Xana and way to free William and get Ulrich's body back." said Aelita.

"Well, we could but Xana won't make it easy for us." said Jeremy,

"When has he ever made it easy for us?" asked Yumi.

"Good point. Okay, first thing tomorrow night we head out to explore the Volcano Sector." said Jeremy.

* * *

It was the next day and the Lyoko Gang were sitting at their usual table eating lunch. Jeremy walked over with his tray of food and sat down. 

"Hey, guys. Good news, I managed to upgrade the shielding on the Skid. We should be ready for whatever surprises we have when we explore the Volcano Sector." said Jeremy,

"That's good to know. The Skid barely survived that bombardment from those Mosquitoes."said Odd.

"Mosquitoes?" asked Sissy,

"The new monster. I also got Darkrelats short for Dark Kankrelats, except the Dark Tarantulas will remain Dark Tarantulas." said Odd.

"Sounds cool." said Hiroki.

"Before we all get started we should do a quick recap. As you all know already, Xana created a new sector." said Jeremy,

"No offense, but could you speed this up?" asked Yumi.

"I'm getting there! Anyway the real question is how long that sector has existed?" said Jeremy.

That made everyone think for a second.

"Best guess?" asked Aelita,

"When Xana escaped the supercomputer he was quiet for a few months. I thought it was because he was building his Replicas but I think he created that sector also while he was at it." said Jeremy.

"You have a point, Jeremy. But we all know that Xana has a knack for keeping things under wraps until he is ready. It was almost like he was expecting us when I saw those images in his mind." said Ulrich,

"You think it was part of his plan?" asked Sissy.

"We can never be too sure. Our only option would be to begin exploring as soon as possible." said Jeremy.

Everyone nodded.

* * *

The Digital Sea was calm blue as always. Only this time on the way of the new discovered there were no monsters or any sign of Xana trying to stop them. The Skid entered the password and the door opened. Everyone watched as the Skid rose from the Digital Sea to meet the orange/red sky 

The Volcano Sector lived up to its name as volcanoes erupted, spewing smoke and lava that fell into the Digital Sea. Hiroki, Sissy, Yumi, and Odd looked around in awe. Meanwhile Ulrich and Aelita who had already seen the sector waited for the others to stop looking. Soon enough they were done and everyone started to explore the strange new sector.

Everywhere they looked only noticed streams of lava, the dark red colored ground, volcanoes spewing more lava, and the occasional white glowing towers.

"So far nothing new, Jeremy." said Ulrich.

_"You don't see anything but I do. I ran the Super Scan in the area and there is mass of activated towers. A lot more activated towers that I ever thought Xana was capable of."_

"Where, Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

_"About a hundred miles north of where you are."_

"Then send in the vehicles." said Yumi.

The Overwing, Overboard, and the Overbike appeared. Sissy and Hiroki hopped onto the Overwing while Aelita and Odd hopped onto the Overboard.

"I vote Ulrich and Yumi take the Overbike." said Hiroki,

"I agree." said Aelita.

"Me too." said Odd,

"Go for it." said Sissy.

"Jeremy?" asked Yumi.

_"Sorry, Yumi you can't always pick your friends." _

Yumi and Ulrich would have blushed if they were in the real world. Ulrich hopped onto the Overbike and Yumi sat behind him wrapping her arms around his waist. They avoided looking at each other and focused on the mission. They sped through the sector avoiding cliffs, lava streams, and flying boulders that were on fire.

They soon enough came upon what they were looking for. A massive crater with a sea of red glowing towers. The crater was extremely large with towers casting an eerie red glow.

"Jeremy we found the towers. I am sending you an image." said Aelita.

A window popped out on the screen and Jeremy saw the towers. His eyes widened as he looked carefully. The Lyoko Warriors jumped into the crater and slid down the cliff to falling and hitting the ground very hard. They landed on the ground and looked around in awe.

They could not cast the feeling that they were being watched.

"I wonder what all these towers are for." said Sissy,

"I can find out." said Aelita.

She ran into a randomly selected tower and started looking through data. She gasped as she looked through the data.

"This is . . . This . .. Is . . ." said Aelita, stuttering in awe.

_"What's wrong Aelita?"_

"There's so much information in this place!"

Aelita looked more amazed every second as more data came up.

"Jeremy, the Volcano Sector is . . ."

Aelita was never given the chance to finish as the tower was suddenly hit by a great force. She ran out of the tower to see three Megatanks, three Scorpions, and five Crabs. Everyone got in a fighting position as they prepared to fight. The monsters fired a shower of lasers on them and they ran for cover.

"Everyone we need to get out of here now!" shouted Aelita,

"Why?" asked Hiroki.

"No time to explain just move!" shouted Aelita.

They retreated back to the Skid on their vehicles and transported back into the Skid. It flew back into the Digital Sea.

* * *

Everyone was devirtualized when they got back to Lyoko and they were all in the lab awaiting what Aelita had to tell them. 

"So what got you all excited, Aelita?" asked Odd,

"Remember how Sector 5 used to be Xana's data base and his monster building unit?" asked Aelita.

"How can we forget?" asked Yumi,

"When I looked at the interface the information said that the Volcano Sector was where Xana lives now!" said Aelita.

"No way!" said Hiroki,

"Well I'll be . . ." said Odd.

"The Volcano Sector was created to be Xana's new central processor when he escaped the supercomputer." said Aelita,

"So that means . . ." said Yumi.

"That the Volcano Sector might have data on how to free William and get Ulrich's body back." said Jeremy.

"What next after that?" asked Ulrich,

"If we can destroy the Volcano Sector than Xana will be destroyed. That valley of towers is Xana's core!" said Jeremy.

Everyone's eyes went wide with the thought of finally destroying Xana.


	32. Chapter 32

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

_"Remember everyone you need to give Aelita enough time to access the data."_

Everyone waited inside the valley of towers that served as Xana's Core in the Volcano Sector. They only waited half a minute before Xana started sending monsters. Crabs and Mantas appeared and attacked. Yumi threw her fans which managed to hit the Eye on one of the Flying Mantas causing them to explode.

Sissy spun her staff in front of her deflecting lasers but she was eventually hit in the leg. Odd and Hiroki raised their shields to block incoming lasers. Odd fired his arrows that managed to hit on the Flying Mantas.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich used the ability to run towards one of the Crabs and jump onto it quickly.

"Impact!"

He stabbed the Eye with his sword and jumped off to watch it explode. He was suddenly hit in the back by a second Crab.

_"Careful, Ulrich, you just lost forty life points."_

Ulrich got up and avoided a barrage of lasers from the second Crab.

"I got the data, Jeremy. I'm sending it to you now." said Aelita.

She came out of the red glowing tower and fired several energy orbs that blasted a few more monsters.

_"All right, everyone. I got the data now head back to the Skid and get out of there."_

Everyone nodded and hopped onto their vehicles. They sped out of the Core and back to the Skid.

* * *

"So, Jeremy how was the mission?" asked Aelita, 

"It was perfect. You managed to find so much information in the Volcano Sector without any hassle at all. The info has been saved on the computer and I've already started the decoding sequence. If everything goes right than we might be able to free William and Ulrich's body.

The data Aelita sent to me was data on how Xana has been keeping control of William and Ulrich's body. We should be able to get it done by lunch." said Jeremy.

"That's great. I can hardly wait to have my real body back." said Ulrich,

"Are you kidding? Why want your real body when you got a cool ghost body?" asked Odd.

"Because I'm still technically on Lyoko." said Ulrich,

"In the mean time let's get back to the dorms." said Sissy.

"I still have a mid-term paper to write." said Yumi,

"Is that your excuse?" asked Hiroki.

Yumi sent a hard glare at Hiroki.

* * *

It was lunch time now. Everyone was minding their own business as they ate their lunch. Jeremy walked over to the Lyoko Warriors' table and sat down. 

"Good news, guys. I managed to decode the data. It contains the codes Xana used to possess Ulrich's body and William. All we need to do is get Xana and William out to battle on Lyoko and if we can devirtualize Ulrich's body than I can launch my program and free it from Xana's control.

However it will be a little more difficult freeing Ulrich's body. We have to devirtualize Ulrich and his body at the same time." said Jeremy,

"All right." said Odd.

"Than all that is left is destroy the Volcano Sector." said Aelita,

"And sayonara Xana!" said Hiroki.

"Than we move!" said Yumi.

* * *

Everyone was at the factory. However what they did not know was that Xana had activated a tower. A tower in the Mountain Sector glowed red. Ulrich's specter flew into the computer as his virtual avatar logged onto Lyoko. 

_"Everyone I am launching the program to free William. I just hope Xana takes the bait." _

A tower glowed green in the Forest Sector as everyone appeared around it. They waited a few minutes but the wait was starting to get to them.

"What's taking so long?" asked Hiroki,

"Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

_"The program is still running but I'll see what I can do." _

It wasn't long before something happened. They heard a sound. They looked to see ten Kankrelats behind them. They charged their lasers and fired.

The Lyoko Warriors jumped to avoid the barrage of lasers.

"I'll take them. Laser Arrows!"

Odd fired an arrow that managed to hit one of the monsters. The Kankrelats fired at Odd but the cat like warrior managed to dodge and fire four more arrows. Two managed to hit their targets while the other two hit the ground. Jeremy watched the battle and noticed something on the screen.

_"You all have company. Wait it looks like . . . William!"_

Everyone looked to see William but he was running from a group of four Crabs and four Hornets.

"It looks like the program worked, Jeremy." said Aelita.

The Hornets fired their tail lasers at the running boy. William pulled out his giant sized sword and blocked the lasers. He jumped and swung his blade down which sliced through a Hornet. He landed on the ground only for a laser to hit him in the chest and send him flying back.

He slid across the ground and stopped a few inches from the edge that led into the Digital Sea. A Crab stood over him the glared down at him with red glowing eye. The red glow meant it was charging its laser up.

"Energy Field!"

A pink orb hit the monster and it exploded. The Hornets and Crabs turned to see the Lyoko Warriors with the exception of Odd who was still handling the remaining Kankrelats. William stood up and swung his blade that sliced through two front legs of a Crab and stabbed it in the Eye. It exploded and the remaining monsters attacked.

However with the Lyoko Warriors and William working together they were destroyed in only a few minutes.

"Nice to have you back, William." said Aelita,

"Good to see you too . . . **Aelita**!" said William.

Everyone's eyes went wide as William released a black ball of smoke that hit everyone and sent them into the air and William raised his hand. He sent them flying into the ground several times and lifted them up and rammed them into some trees. Jeremy winced as they lost ten life points with each hit. William chuckled and released his grip.

The Lyoko Warriors stood up slowly and looked the smirking possessed warrior.

"Jeremy, something's wrong." said Sissy,

"William's still evil." said Yumi.

_"I just found out why. I can't believe I fell for the same trick twice! I'm such an idiot"_

"What do you mean?" asked Odd.

_"Remember our trip to the Volcano Sector. It turns out the decoded information is none other than booby-trap data that disabled my super scan. The data has even allowed several more files in the restricted section access to Xana. I need to get the super scan working again._

_This is just like that first mission to Sector 5 two years ago!"_

"Awful!" said Hiroki,

_"What's worse is that Xana's launched an attack. There is an activated tower in the Mountain Sector."_

"I'll head to the tower in the Mountain Sector." said Ulrich,

"I'll go with you." said Yumi.

_"I'll send the vehicles. Wait a second! Oh no! Xana's managed to corrupt the vehicles!_

_I can't send them to you."_

"Then we do it the hard way." said Ulrich.

He grabbed Yumi and started running.

"Super Flash!"

They both disappeared in a golden flash.

"Why do Ulrich and Yumi get to do the hard work?" asked Odd,

"Drop it, Odd." said Aelita.

* * *

Ulrich ran into the Way Tower with Yumi on his back. They both would be blushing hard if it wasn't for the situation they were in. 

"So how bad is it, Jeremy?" asked Ulrich.

_"It looks like so far Xana corrupted the vehicles and he's trying to work his way around the security in the restricted section. Wait! Xana just sabotaged the Devirtualization Sequence!"_

"Not good!" said Yumi.

They walked over to the edge of the blue platform and jumped into the data stream below. They flew onto another platform and came out of the tower. Only now they were in the Mountain Sector.

"We better hurry!" said Yumi.

They both took off as they sprinted towards the activated tower. They soon saw it on a narrow path while in the middle of the path was a gaping hole that split the path into two narrower walkways that curved away from each other and then came back together at the other side of the pit. Ulrich and Yumi started running towards the tower.

_"Ulrich! Yumi! You got some Hornets and Tarantulas behind you!"_

Ulrich and Yumi stopped to face the monster and sure enough a laser flew right past Ulrich's head. They looked back to see three Tarantulas moving towards them at high speed. Above them was six Hornets. Ulrich pulled out his swords and Yumi held her fans in ready position.

Jeremy was watching the battle as sweat poured down his forehead. There was beeping sound and Jeremy looked to see.

_"Oh great! Everyone, Xana just worked his way around the fire wall I made for the Time Return Program. He's started a countdown for three minutes and if you don't hurry we're all going back in time!"_

Yumi threw one of her fans but the monsters dodged and on the way back it was shot down by a Hornet.

"Darn it!" said Yumi.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran out and jumped into the air. He plunged his sword into a Hornet and it exploded. However a Tarantula managed to hit him which sent him flying back.

_"I don't mean to rush you guys but you only have one minute left to get to the tower."_

Ulrich quickly dashed for the tower while Yumi blocked a few more incoming lasers. Ulrich was almost there when a Crab materialized right in front of him. It fired a laser that hit Ulrich in the right arm. Yumi was able to use her other fan and sliced through a Hornet.

_"Too late!"_

The factory was engulfed in a bubble of white light.

* * *

Before his annoying an alarm clock could even ring Jeremy slammed his fist down and got dressed quickly. He looked at the computer and it showed a map of Lyoko. 

"Ulrich's still on Lyoko!? Of course! His mind is still in a virtual container. It's like Aelita before we restored her humanity!" said Jeremy.

He ran out of his room and found Odd, Sissy, and Aelita waiting for him over the sewer hatch.

"We need to get to the factory! Ulrich is still on Lyoko!" said Jeremy,

"What? How?" asked Sissy.

"Ulrich is only out here in a specter body since we have not recovered his body yet." said Jeremy,

"But why is Xana using the Time Return Program? He's not in the supercomputer anymore so it can't increase his power." said Aelita.

"It's not about increasing his power, Aelita. It's about making it easier to get rid of Ulrich. When he came back we were able to get an upper hand in the battle against Xana. Get rid of Ulrich and that's one less Lyoko Warrior to deal with." said Jeremy.

Hiroki and Yumi caught up with them and they ran for the factory.

* * *

"Impact!" 

Ulrich stabbed the Eye with his sword and jumped back as the Crab exploded. He jumped as Tarantulas and Hornets opened fire on him.

"Super Flash!"

He ran as lasers showered down around him. He looked up to see three Flying Mantas. However these were no ordinary squad of Flying Mantas. William stood on Manta that was colored black while Xana stood on one colored blood red.

The remaining Hornets flew beside them as they flew down and fired at Ulrich.

_"Transfer Yumi."_

_"Transfer Odd."_

_"Transfer Aelita."_

_"Scanner Yumi."_

_"Scanner Odd."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Virtualization!"_

Odd, Yumi, and Aelita appeared in the Mountain Sector on gigantic rocky platform. They looked around to see Ulrich above them on a narrow pathway using Super Flash to get away from a group of monster lead by Xana and William. Aelita activated her wings and flew up to assist Ulrich while Odd and Yumi had to take the long way. Xana looked down to see Aelita flying up towards them.

He smirked and directed his Manta towards her. It flew down towards her and fired. Aelita dodged and held out her hands.

"Energy Field!"

She fired her pink energy orb which was blocked by Xana's sword.

_"Transfer Hiroki."_

Ulrich ran up a giant boulder and kicked off it. He flew through the air and straight into William. The force of the impact knocked William off his Manta and Ulrich stood on it. The Manta screamed and tried to shake Ulrich off.

_"Transfer Sissy."_

Odd fired several arrows that managed to hit a Hornet. Yumi blocked a barrage of lasers from the remaining four Hornets.

"Super Smoke!"

William who fell through the air and into the Digital Sea transformed into a ball of black smoke that flew back up and landed in front of Odd and Yumi. He raised his giant sword and swung it down. Yumi flipped back and avoided the massive blade.

_"Scanner Hiroki."_

_"Scanner Sissy."_

Aelita flew through the air as she and Xana circled each other and fired lasers and energy orbs. Ulrich stabbed the black Manta in the Eye and it exploded. He jumped off and noticed the tower was now guarded by the Tarantulas.

"Can't I get a break?" muttered the boy.

_"Virtualization!"_

William kept swinging his sword to strike down Yumi when a fire ball came out nowhere and hit him in the chest. Yumi looked to see Hiroki and Sissy running up to them. Sissy fired her webbing and swung her way up to the narrow pathway leading to the tower. Xana's Manta finally managed to hit Aelita in the wings and she landed in front of the tower with three Tarantulas leveling their guns on her.

**"You want to leave? Be my guest."**

Xana jumped off his red Manta and pulled out his sword. He swung his blade down only for it to be blocked by two other swords. He looked up to see Ulrich in front of him. Aelita quickly fired an energy orb and destroyed one of the Tarantulas.

Sissy jumped in and stabbed another Tarantula with her staff. Meanwhile Xana and Ulrich were slashing each other violently back and forth. Aelita blasted the last Tarantula and ran into the tower. She flew up to the upper platform and placed her hand on the screen.

Xana black flipped and landed on his red Manta.

**"Next time, Lyoko Warriors."**

He flew into the Digital Sea with his last two Mantas disappeared. Aelita placed her hand on the interface.

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

The tower turned from red to white. Jeremy looked to see all of the infected data on the computer was immediately deleted.

* * *

"From now on, Jeremy, no more downloading data from Xana's data bank without checking it first." said Ulrich, now in his specter. 

"I know. I was a little excited. I'll upgrade the fire wall on the restricted sector." said Jeremy.

"Look on the bright side, Jeremy. We still can enter the Volcano Sector." said Odd,

"Yeah and we should be more careful when looking through Xana's data." said Aelita.


	33. Chapter 33

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

"Everyone I have bad news." said Jeremy,

"Xana?" asked Yumi.

They were all sitting at lunch when Jeremy's computer picked up an activated tower.

"Unfortunately. I don't know what the attack is but it seems like Xana is gathering energy." said Jeremy,

"Let's get moving. I'll log back onto Lyoko and start ahead." said Ulrich.

Jeremy nodded and they walked out of the cafe and slipped into the forest. Ulrich turned into a cloud of black smoke and flew into Jeremy's lap top. In the Mountain Sector of Lyoko Ulrich virtualized himself and landed the rocky plateau. He looked around and looked up to the sky.

"Okay, Jeremy, where's the tower?" asked Ulrich.

_"It should be northwest of you but be careful. The rest of us have class so we'll cover for you. Just hurry and deactivate the tower."_

"Thanks. Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran down a long narrow path until he saw a hollow mountain. That was when he heard a buzzing sound. Lasers fell from the sky and Ulrich jumped back to see five Hornets flying at him. However these Hornets were different.

They were colored black, red, and white as opposed to brown, green, and white. They showed lasers and acid down on the samurai luckily Ulrich jumped back and his swords to block incoming lasers.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran up and jumped into the air swinging his swords. He sliced one of them in half as he landed on the ground.

"What I would give for the Overbike now." muttered Ulrich.

He deflected more lasers and soon realized that these Dark Hornets or Darkornets were more powerful than the usual Hornets. They were more maneuverable, more powerful, and had better reflexes.

"I wonder what Xana's planning this time." said Ulrich.

Ulrich ran and soon enough saw the tower on a floating piece of land with a ten foot radius. It was guarded by three Crabs and three Tarantulas.

"Triplicate!" shouted Ulrich.

He split into three Ulrichs and charged head on. The Tarantulas fired their lasers but the copies Ulrich created were upgraded thanks to Franz Hopper. They blocked the lasers and managed to stab them in the Eye. However they were soon blasted by the Crabs.

Ulrich threw one of his swords that was thrown with such force it shattered the Eye on one Crab. It exploded and the sword flew back into the hand of its owner. Ulrich faced the last two Crabs and easily destroyed them.

"That was too easy." muttered Ulrich.

**Than**** allow me to provide you with a challenge.****Spark Disk!"**

A disk of electricity struck Ulrich in the back, causing him minor damage.

"Do you always use dirty tricks, Xana?" asked Ulrich.

**"No but the****y are so much more fun."**

Ulrich and Xana charged at each other and swung their blades.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

Xana released a blast of electricity but it did not hit Ulrich. It destroyed half the land that the tower was on. Ulrich jumped and landed on the pathway that led to the tower. Ulrich looked back to see the piece of land the tower was on and the pathway was now separated by a large gap created by Xana's Lightning Arc.

Ulrich glared at Xana who returned his glaring with a taunting smirk.

* * *

"So what's Xana up to now?" asked Sissy,

"There's massive power outages all over the city. Xana must be draining the city of its power but I don't know why." said Jeremy.

* * *

"What are you up to, Xana?" asked Ulrich.

**"It's actually quite simple, Ulrich. I have been charging the factory with electricity and soon enough say good bye." **

"What?" asked Ulrich.

Xana smirked.

* * *

The Lyoko Gang reached the sewer entrance when they saw a black cloud hovering over the factory. Then the factory suddenly exploded releasing a giant mushroom cloud. The explosion was big enough that it eliminated the entire factory that sent pieces flying everywhere. Everyone looked on in disbelief.

"This can't be happening . . ." muttered Jeremy.

"Ulrich . . ."

Yumi looked on in horror. If Lyoko was gone than that would mean that Ulrich would have been deleted. Aelita reached and grabbed Jeremy's arm.

"We need to get back. The police will be arriving to investigate."

The gang walked back to school in disbelief and sadness.


	34. Chapter 34

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Yumi tried to keep herself from crying but couldn't. The tears were streaming down her face as she looked down at the picture of the brown haired boy clutched to her chest. Why had this happened? She thought she lost Ulrich when Xana possessed his body and destroyed Lyoko's Core, than Xana made it worse when he tricked them into thinking Ulrich came back only to be snatched away by the horrible truth, now the factory was destroyed and no matter how hard Jeremy tried he could not open a channel to Lyoko. 

All evidence pointed to the Lyoko Supercomputer being destroyed when the factory blew up. That meant that Ulrich was gone and any chance of stopping Xana was gone. Why? Why did she get Ulrich back only for him to be taken from her again?

She soon fell asleep but even in her dreams she found no comfort. For in her dreams every time when she found what she wanted it disappeared out of her grip and she cried.

* * *

All was quiet in the virtual net. Xana wasn't launching an attack and there were no activated towers or monsters. But in the Volcano Sector that served as Xana's new processor a plan to finish off the Lyoko Warriors was being hatched. In a giant black tower that was glowing red were two figures. 

They were both dressed in black in the large room. One wore a pitch black body outfit that covered every part of his body except his head with the Eye of Xana on his chest and forehead. On his right arm was a spike manacle and right now he was bowing before his master with his over sized sword lying next to him. The figure in front of him was the body of Ulrich currently occupied by Xana.

Not that the previous owner of the body did not mind that his body was being used as a puppet. The samurai clothing was replaced by a complete pitch black body suit with red lines going down his arms and legs with Xana's symbol ending at the hands which had metal gauntlets with short curved claws on each finger. There were some bulky lines along his body which suggested the figure wore body armor underneath. As for the headband it was completely black with red Eye of Xana on it.

Where Ulrich's eyes used to be were now pitch black orbs with twin red symbols of Xana.

**"William, I trust you brought me good news from our little hunt on Lyoko."**

"Yes, I have. The samurai is right now in hiding from our forces but he can not contact his friends now that we have bugged up the communications channels between Lyoko and Earth."

**"Good. We will win this time, my servant. Everything is going according to my plan and now it's time to launch our attack."**

Xana laughed a mirthless laugh.

* * *

Ulrich rolled out of the way as the row of Kankrelats fired a barrage of lasers on him. He blocked lasers as they kept on firing. The Crabs kept on firing as he ran for it. 

"Jeremy? Where are you? Jeremy! Come on!

Jeremy! Yumi! Aelita! Anyone!" shouted Ulrich.

He jumped as another Crab fired at him. This was getting ridiculous. For the last twenty four hours he had been on the run as Xana's monsters kept on chasing and firing at him. If he saw so much as one more monster he would lose it.

He looked behind and saw a Tarantula open fire on him. Well they say the mind is the first thing to go.

* * *

Everyone sat in the cafe but if they were not off in their own little world they would have noticed that a certain group of certain students at a table all had looks of sadness on their faces. They had been distraught for what seemed like forever even though the factory was destroyed only yesterday. They only thing on their mind was the loss of Ulrich and Lyoko. 

"So what do we do now?" asked Hiroki,

"I don't know. Without the supercomputer we have no way of stopping Xana now. He doesn't have to worry about us going to Lyoko and trying to deactivate his towers now that Lyoko and the supercomputer are gone. He still has his Replicas so he has nothing to worry about." said Jeremy.

"Don't say his name again, Jeremy." muttered Yumi, coldly.

Everyone looked at Yumi while her hair covered her face.

"If I ever hear his name again it will be too soon. This is all your fault, Jeremy! If you hadn't messed up that day when you sent him to Sector 5 than we wouldn't have lost his body to Xana! And now I lost him again!"

With that said Yumi piked up her tray and dumped the uneaten continents and ran out. Everyone watched as she ran without following her.

* * *

Yumi into the woods and sat under a tree. The same tree Ulrich sat under whenever he was thinking or sulking. She needed to let it out. She held it in around her parents and in her classes. 

Now was the time to let it out and she did.

* * *

In the Ice Sector of Lyoko a tower started to glow red.

* * *

Everyone walked out of the cafe when they heard a loud roar from the sky. They looked up to see a thin green light that flashed through the sky like lightning. Students screamed as they ran back as the lightning hit and blasted the ground in the middle of the courtyard. They looked to see a massive shape rise from the ground. 

It was a giant red squat like disk with six eyes and four spindly legs. The Lyoko Warriors recognized the monster that stood before them. It was a Crab but no one besides the Lyoko Gang recognized it. Suddenly green lightning flashed down from the sky and hit the ground again.

This time five Kankrelats stood on the badly scorched ground. Everyone started to scream as more and more of Xana's monsters appeared as green lightning flashed down from the sky and hit the ground with a loud impact. Two Bloks noticed the Lyoko Warriors and aimed their eyes at them.

"Run!" shouted Odd.

The eyes glowed red and fired lasers at them. The Lyoko Warriors ran for their lives and screams filled the air. The monsters ignored the students and teachers that ran around screaming. The lead Tarantula followed the Lyoko Warriors as they ran into the forests.

"Call nine-one-one!" shouted Mrs. Hertz.

Kankrelats and Bloks scuttled in front of the other monsters and fired lasers, Crabs stood over the smaller monsters and let loose a wave lasers, while Hornets hovered above in the air and fired like mad. Yumi jumped up as she heard the sound of lasers being fired and looked to see Jeremy and the others running from an army of Xana's monsters.

"Run, Yumi!" shouted Odd.

She soon took off running with her friends behind her and an army of monsters behind them. Lasers blasted trees, chunks of dirt was sent flying, smoke rose from the scorch marks left behind by lasers that missed their target.

"How are the monster being transported here?" asked Sissy,

"Xana must have taken over a satellite and he's using it to transport his monsters here." said Jeremy, panting.

"That would explain that lightning coming straight down from the sky." said Odd,

"The question is how do stop him?" asked Yumi.

That was the one question Jeremy did not have an answer to. They ran out into an open clearing of the forest and stopped to let out a gasp that took almost all of their breath away. Ahead of them was another group of monsters with their eyes glowing meaning that they were charging their lasers. They looked back to see the forest behind them full of red glowing eyes.

"This is it." muttered Jeremy.

Aelita held onto her for her life and Jeremy held her tightly, Hiroki clutched onto her sister and Yumi hugged him against her, and Sissy did the same thing with Odd. For the first time since they discovered the supercomputer and had their first fight against Xana they did not feel like Lyoko Warriors. Instead they felt like . . . scared children.

The bright red orbs burned as the monsters prepared to fire-

-and suddenly stopped.

The Lyoko Gang watched as all monsters ceased movement. Even the Hornets and Flying Mantas hovered completely still in the air without a single shred of movement. They all now looked like statues as their lasers died and faded.

"What's going on?" asked Yumi, uneasily.

"I don't know but we better make a run for it while we can." said Jeremy.

Somewhere someone had a different thought in mind.

**"I don't think so."**

Xana chose to voice his thoughts by sending another stream of green electricity from the satellite he had taken over. Odd looked up as he heard a loud roar and saw the clouds shattered by a mysterious force.

"Look out!"

Everyone scattered as the green lightning blasted where they stood. Scorched into the ground was the Eye of Xana with a figure standing in the circle. Everyone gasped as the figure picked up a giant sword and swung it around. It was William in his Lyoko form!

He held his giant sword over his shoulder with his hand and his human eyes were replaced with twin Eyes of Xana. He smirked at the shocked warriors who trembled in terror. They were surrounded with no hopes of stopping Xana, his monsters won't let them escape, they can't get to Lyoko to deactivate the tower because the factory was destroyed, and Ulrich was deleted. This was it.

They were cornered like helpless rats at the mercy of a friend possessed by a demonic AI out to take over the world.

"William." said Yumi, glaring at the boy.

With a battle cry William leapt at them with his sword raised high. The Lyoko Gang managed jump out of the way as William's sword connected to the ground and left a large crater. He pulled his weapon out of the ground and raced towards the Lyoko Warriors. Odd picked up some rocks and threw them but William blocked with his sword and swung.

Odd yelped as he jumped to the side with as the sword sliced a few strands of his hair.

"Hey! You know how hard it is to keep this hair perfect?" complained Odd.

William raised his sword when the sound of movement was caught by his ears. He turned to see Yumi slam into him which knocked them both away from Odd. They rolled together on the ground but Yumi managed to come out on top. She grabbed William's neck with one hand and raised her fist to pound William's face into the ground.

Her fist fell but grabbed her wrist and twisted it. _Hard_. Yumi gave a shout of pain and tired to pull her arms back into position. William drew his knees up and kicked with both of them, sending Yumi flying back.

Yumi managed to land on her hands and knees and quickly threw a rock hoping it would hit William while he was still getting on his feet. However William simply caught the rock with one hand and smirked. Luckily Odd grabbed William from behind and held one arm tightly around his neck. Just before Odd could get him in a headlock William snapped his head back and Odd's face was sent flying back by the back of William's skull.

Odd was sent stumbling back holding his face in pain. He opened his eyes to see William's foot crash into his chest which sucked the air out of his lungs and knocked him flat on his back. He looked to see William standing over him with a smirk as he raised his sword. Suddenly Hiroki screamed and jumped on William's back.

The boy punched, kicked, and did anything he could to distract William. He finally knocked Hiroki off him only for Yumi and Sissy to send him flying back with two fists down on his head with as much force as they could muster. William hit the ground face first, sputtering in the dirt and trying to regain his senses.

Aelita and Jeremy watched the battle knowing they could not fight as well as their friends.

* * *

Ulrich sliced through the guns and stabbed the Eye. The Tarantula screamed as it fell over and exploded. Ulrich panted hard. 

"Finally a break." muttered the boy.

He ran into the tower and flew to the upper platform.

"I am not be good as Aelita and Jeremy but I will figure out what happened." said Ulrich with determination.

He scanned through the data and looked at what happened.

"So that's what happened. I better hurry and get to the Ice Sector. I just need to get rid of this bug. I hope I'm not too late." muttered Ulrich.

* * *

Aelita and Jeremy caught their breaths as they watched fight go on. The others and William were going at each other like beasts fighting over raw meat. Suddenly there was a beeping sound from Jeremy's laptop. Jeremy opened it up and gasped as Ulrich appeared on the screen. 

"Ulrich?" asked Aelita with wide eyes.

_"Jeremy? Aelita? Where are you guys?"_

"We're in the woods. Xana transported William and an army of monsters here to finish us after he blew up the factory. Where are you, Ulrich?" asked Jeremy.

_"I'm on Lyoko."_

"But the supercomputer . . ." said Jeremy.

_"Xana only blew up the factory. He then bugged up the communications and sent monsters after me to make you all think the Lyoko supercomputer was destroyed. It's there and right now I just finally figured out what Xana was planning. You need to find way into the lab I can't face all of Xana monsters here._

_I barely have enough life points and its only a matter of time before Xana sends monsters to attack the tower I'm in."_

"Got it, Ulrich. Just stay alive until Aelita and I get there." said Jeremy.

Ulrich nodded and logged off.

"Let's go, Aelita." said Jeremy.

The pink haired girl nodded and ran off into the woods. Their escape caught the corner of William's eye. Distracted from his fight with the others he looked to see Jeremy and Aelita making a break for it. His dark eyes flashed and the monsters began to clatter back to life.

Xana's mark on his forehead pulsed and sent a message to his minions.

**"Eliminate them."**


	35. Chapter 35

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Aelita and Jeremy sprinted and glanced back to see how many monsters were following them. The dozen monsters that were deactivated sprang to life and chased them. They pelted forward as they tried to to avoid the fire storm of lasers that started put the forest on fire. Their screams were caught off by the sudden movement, activity, and the shrieking sound of laser fire. 

Yumi ducked and William's sword missed, wedging itself into the tree behind her with a solid _thunk_. William growled and charged at her with one fist gathering dark energy as he hauled it back and sent it forward to her face. But this time Yumi was ready for her. She blocked the swing by grabbing William's wrist with her right hand and grabbed William's neck.

Holding William's neck tightly Yumi swung him hard against the tree and kept him pinned there.

"Everyone, go help Jeremy and Aelita! Xana's monsters just went after them!" shouted Yumi.

William's sword suddenly flew out of the tree and into William's left hand. Yumi gasped as William twirled the sword in his hand and the hilt of the sword hit Yumi in the stomach hard. She gasped as the air escaped her lungs and sent her flying.

"Yumi!" shouted Hiroki.

Yumi got up and looked at them with a stern glare.

"Go! Now! It's no good if Xana gets rid of us all here! Go help Jeremy and Aelita!" shouted Yumi.

William ran at her and she was distracted and his foot connected with her skull. Yumi crashed to the ground and William smirked as he raised his sword towards the others.

"I said GO!" shouted Yumi.

Everyone took the message and ran for it. William grunted and turned back to Yumi. She got up trying to ignore pain her head suffered from the blow. She scrambled to her feet before William could attack again . . .

But he didn't.

"What are you waiting for, **Xana**? Too afraid to fight me? Even though you took Ulrich away three times now and captured William?" asked Yumi as she spat out the AI's name.

William simply glared but did not move. Yumi was having trouble keeping herself calm. She charged and reared back her fist. William smirked and prepared for another all out assault.

* * *

Jeremy and Aelita ran for their lives as more and more lasers kept getting closing to them. They gasped desperately for air to keep running and sweat poured down their faces. They soon saw the sewer hatch and opened it. Jeremy held the hatch in front of him that manage to block some lasers but one managed to hit his knee. 

The blond boy screamed in pain.

"Jeremy!"

Aelita grabbed Jeremy and they both jumped into the sewer. Several Kankrelats jumped in after them, only to be kicked into the water by Aelita's foot. The monsters headed towards the factory but luckily for the Lyoko Warriors several police cars were on the street with police officers firing their guns off as the monsters came out of the forests. The street was lit up in flames in a battle between the police and Xana's minions.

Jeremy and Aelita climbed up the ladder and they looked to see where the factory once stood. The bridge was still intact but where the factory was nothing but an area covered scrap metal and black soot. They walked into see the floor had gaping holes where they could see all the way down to the supercomputer floor. They looked to see the elevator survived the explosions and entered it.

Pressing a button the elevator took them down to the lab. When the door opened Jeremy and Aelita gasped to see everything was intact.

"Hurry down to the scanners, Aelita. I believe Ulrich has his hands full." said Jeremy.

Aelita nodded to the ladder down to the scanner room. She jumped and landed on the floor. She entered one of the scanners and Jeremy started the virtualization sequence.

* * *

Ulrich ran through the Ice Sector now that he finally managed to regain all of his life points. He looked towards the tower to see three Tarantulas and five Mantas guarding it. 

"Need a little hand?" asked a voice.

Ulrich whipped his swords out and whipped around to see Aelita. The pink haired girl smiled and put her hands on her hips.

"You'tr looking stressed." said Aelita, amused.

"Sorry, but I've been dealing with Xana's monsters for the last twenty four hours." said Ulrich.

"We better hurry, Ulrich. The others won't last long against Xana's monsters and William." said Aelita.

Aelita took off into the air with her angel wings allowing the monsters to spot her. She fired two energy orbs that destroyed two Mantas already. Ulrich used this opportunity to attack.

"Super Flash!"

He ran forward and jumped into the air. He threw one of his swords that landed right on the back of a Tarantula, successfully piercing the Eye and landed on the back of another one. He stabbed it and both monsters exploded at the same time. Ulrich turned his attention to the last Tarantula and blocked the heavy barrage of lasers with his swords.

He managed to deflect a few shots and several lasers flew back and hit the monster in the underbelly.

_"Great work, Ulrich but it's only damaged."_

"Energy Field!"

A pink orb flew in and blasted the last Tarantula. Ulrich looked back to see Aelita flying in with the last three Flying Mantas on her tail.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran past Aelita as she landed on jumped onto one of the Mantas. He threw one of his swords that successfully destroyed one of them and stabbed the one he was riding. He jumped onto the last one. Aelita ran into the tower and flew to the upper platform.

Just as she was about to input the code she stopped.

"Jeremy? This tower that was used to transport William into the real world must be connected to the program Xana is using to control him, right?" asked Aelita.

_"Yeah, why?"_

"If we can hack into the data we might be able to find a way to free William." said Aelita.

_"Of course! Aelita, you're a genius."_

Aelita quickly hack into the tower's data and then sent the data to Jeremy before placing her hand on the interface.

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

The tower turned from red to white.

* * *

William raised his sword to finish Yumi when he screamed and suddenly vanished. Jeremy pressed the ENTER button. 

_"Return to the Past now!"_

* * *

Yumi woke up to her surprise to see her laptop on and Ulrich's face was on it! 

"Ulrich!? But I thought . . ."

"It's okay, Yumi. Let me explain."

Ulrich proceeded to explain what happened. When the story was over Yumi allowed a tear to fall down her cheek as she smiled.

"It's good to know you weren't deleted, Ulrich."

"I know the feeling."

They both smiled.


	36. Chapter 36

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Jeremy sighed as he along with Odd, Aelita, and Ulrich still in specter form sat in science class. He watched the clock with anticipation as it neared 3:00. He was getting anxious to get back to work on the program that would free William from Xana's clutches. He just couldn't wait and to be honest Ulrich was anxious to have his body back instead of staying in a specter that looked exactly like him. 

"Jeremy, what did I just say?" asked a voice.

That one question shook Jeremy from his daydream and he looked up at Mrs. Hertz.

"I-I'm . . . Sorry. I didn't hear you." said Jeremy, stuttering.

Everyone in the class looked at him.

"Hey, Jeremy, how close is the apocalypse?" asked Odd,

"Very funny, Della Robbia. Jeremy, please pay attention." said Mrs. Hertz.

She walked back to the front of the class and started her long lecture again when a sound was heard. Ulrich looked out and noticed something. A helicopter landed on their field and men dressed military uniforms stepped out of the helicopter. The class got up in an uproar and ran over to the windows to get a better look.

"Back to your seats!" shouted Mrs. Hertz.

Jeremy, Aelita, Odd, and Ulrich looked at each other with worried looks. The bell rang and the students ran out and looked as the Mr. Delmas walked out to talk to the soldiers.

"Excuse me, sir, but can you explain to me the meaning of this disruption?" asked the principal,

"We got a call of a criminal organization using this place as a hideout." said the captain.

"What?! Now see here, this is a school meant for educating children not a hide out for punks!" said Mr. Delmas,

"Sorry, but we have orders to investigate." said the captain.

Yumi walked out with Hiroki and Sissy behind her.

"Hey guys did you see the . . ." started Yumi,

"Helicopter with lots of army guys coming out of it? Yeah." said Odd.

"Well one of them came into my English class and said to my teacher about posting soldiers all around the campus." said Yumi,

"You think this has anything to do with Xana?" asked Ulrich.

"Maybe. Remember when he tricked those Men in Black into thinking Jeremy hacked into their files?" said Yumi,

"It's not like Xana to use the same plan twice. I think it's safe to say this is some prank and not some Xana attack." said Jeremy.

"I could always check on Lyoko just in case. Like you said Jeremy you never know what Xana's planning." said Ulrich,

"I'll go and help you out." said Yumi.

"Go ahead you two." said Jeremy, smirking.

Yumi then smiled mischievously as an idea formed in her head. She quickly bumped into Aelita who bumped into Jeremy causing him to fall over and she landed on top of him. Odd, Hiroki, and Sissy snickered and each gave Yumi a high five.

"Sorry, Jeremy." said Aelita, smiling.

Jeremy blushed and accepted Aelita's hand as she pulled him up. It was already lunch and Yumi sat in Jeremy's dorm. Ulrich morphed into a black cloud and flew into the computer. On Lyoko Ulrich's virtualized form appeared as he logged on and landed on in the Desert Sector.

He looked around and crouched down. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a wrist held computer that was strapped to his wrist. He activated it and looked as it showed all of Lyoko. No pulsations, no activated tower detected, and no monsters anywhere.

"It looks like whatever got the army to spend the night in the academy wasn't Xana. Well we can all sleep in our beds tonight. What's better is that with the army here all classes were canceled." said Ulrich.

_"So what do we do now?"_

"How should I know? Want to sneak out into town and see a movie?" asked Ulrich.

_"Is it a date?"_

Yumi asked the question playfully but she was hoping with every fiber of her being on the inside.

"What you want to call it?" asked Ulrich, very thankful that he could not blush on Lyoko.

_"How about being thankful that you managed to escape death three times?"_

"Sure, why not that?"

* * *

Later Yumi was in her house preparing for her 'date' with Ulrich. She already had her clothes ready and Hiroki promised to be good and not tell their parents where she was going. She walked out the door and headed for the school. Ulrich was already on his way to the gates when he noticed the soldiers were still guarding the place. 

There was no way they were going to let him off the grounds for a 'date' with Yumi. He had an idea. He took a page out of Xana's book and his body morphed into a black cloud and spread across the ground. His black liquid form moved across the shadowed surface of the ground and passed the soldiers without making a sound. He reappeared in front of the gate and looked behind to him just in case someone saw him.

It seemed he was lucky today.

"Well, I got to admit I know why Xana likes using this so much. It sure avoids trouble." muttered Ulrich.

He looked and smiled to see Yumi walking up to him with a smile. They walked into town and they stopped at a Cafe. They walked in and noticed several tables in the middle and booths on the side. They chose a booth near the entrance and a waitress came up to them and handed out the menus.

She asked if they wanted anything to drink, Yumi decided for a Coke while Ulrich couldn't eat or drink on account of his mind residing in a specter. They didn't talk much. They couldn't think of what to say since they had spent so much time fighting Xana. Ulrich was about to say something when his cell phone rang.

He looked at the caller I.D. and saw it was Odd.

"What is it, Odd?" asked Ulrich.

_"I'm just calling to ask if you started making out yet."_

"Odd!" growled Ulrich.

Yumi heard what he said and blushed heavily. She however giggled when she saw how uncomfortable Ulrich was.

"Is that all you called for?" asked Ulrich.

_"Yep."_

He hung on Odd and turned back to Yumi. Before he could speak Yumi's cell phone started ringing. She looked at it and answered.

"Hello?"

_Hey, Yumi have you and Ulrich started kissing yet?"_

"Hiroki!" said Yumi, quietly.

Ulrich however heard that and smirked at her. Now she knows how it feels.

_"Is that a no?"_

"Is that all you called for?" asked Yumi.

_"Pretty much."_

Yumi hung up and groaned.

* * *

"She hung up." said Hiroki. 

Both him and Odd were pulling some weeds out of the grass and tossing it around.

"So did Ulrich." said Odd,

"Now what do we do?" asked Hiroki.

"We call them again." said Odd,

"Okay."

* * *

Yumi put down the phone and looked at the smirking Ulrich. 

"What are you smiling at?" she snapped playfully.

"Nothing." said Ulrich in an innocent tone.

"Well I guess I should have seen it coming." said Yumi,

"Yeah, we should have . . ."

RING!

Ulrich growled as he answered his phone.

"What is it now, Odd?" demanded Ulrich.

_"I just wanted to know where you are."_

"Why?"

_"Because."_

"Look, Odd, if you don't mind please leave me and Yumi alone. Oh, and tell Hiroki to leave us alone while you're at it." said Ulrich.

_"Ok but under one condition."_

"What, Odd?"

_"I want you to say that I am the most handsome and good looking guy in the world."_

"What!?"

Yumi heard what Odd said and started laughing silently.

"You'rethemosthandosmeandgoodlookingguyintheworld!" said Ulrich, quickly.

Ulrich blushed and noticed Yumi was looking she was about to die of laughter.

_"Ulrich, I didn't hear you right. Could you say it again?"_

"You're the most handsome and good looking guy in the world." Ulrich muttered into the phone.

He was blushing so hard his head looked like a tomato. Yumi gave him an apologetic look and gave him a half hearted laugh. Ulrich cracked a smile at her.

"Is that good enough?" asked Ulrich, annoyed.

_"Yep, have fun Romeo and say bye to Yumi for me."_

"Yes, bye!" said Ulrich, hanging up.

He looked at Yumi and she was smiling at him. She was about to say something when her phone rang. She mentally cursed as she answered the phone.

"Hiroki, what is it?" growled Yumi.

She heard her brother making kissing noises over the phone.

_"Oh, Ulrich I love you.(_Kissing sound)_ Have you told him you loved him yet?"_

"Scram, Hiroki!" snapped Yumi.

_"Hello, Ulrich dear, can we start kissing?"_

Yumi was now the one blushing and she was blushing three shades of red. She noticed Ulrich snickering at her.

"Hiroki, unless you hang up right now I'll tell Tamiya to print out papers that you have a crush on Milly." said Yumi.

_"What!?"_

"Bye!" said Yumi.

She hung up and looked at Ulrich.

"Not so funny when you're the one getting teased, huh?" asked Ulrich,

"Dork." said Yumi.

* * *

(Insert XANA Attack Theme) 

A tower in the Forest Sector turned red showing that it was now under Xana's control.

* * *

The school was quiet as soldiers and students alike slept through the calm and quiet night. The moon shined down upon the city which was beautiful to anyone who was watching it. There was only one being that wasn't asleep. One of the soldiers snored very loudly, totally oblivious to the pitch black substance that oozed out of a nearby socket. 

Xana gazed upon on the number of sleeping soldiers below him. The black cloud grew in size and covered the entire field of soldiers that slept in their camps. It spread into the human soldiers and enveloped them. Once the humans were completely covered the black ooze seemed to be absorbed into the human skin.

For a few seconds nothing happened. And then the soldiers started to awake. They stood up like puppets and opened their eyes. If anyone had been awake to see this they would have seen that the soldiers' eyes had been replaced by the Eye of Xana.

* * *

Jeremy groaned when he heard a beeping sound. He looked at the computer and saw the super scan had detected an activated tower. He groaned and wished Xana would attack later. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Ulrich's number.

* * *

RING! 

Ulrich groaned as once again he and Yumi were interrupted by an unwelcome phone call.

"Who is it?" asked Ulrich, growling.

_"What's the problem with you, Ulrich? Never mind, we got problem. The super scan just detected an activated tower."_

"Okay." said Ulrich.

He hung up and looked at Yumi.

"Activated tower." said Ulrich, groaning.

"Why are you groaning?" asked Yumi.

"Would it have killed Xana to attack before Odd and Hiroki started calling us?" asked Ulrich,

"I've never known Xana to be considerate." said Yumi.

* * *

Jeremy called the others and they were on their way to the factory when they noticed the soldiers were all over the woods. One of them saw the Lyoko Gang and pulled out something shiny. 

"Get down!" shouted Jeremy.

Several shots ricocheted off the school wall and the Lyoko Warriors looked up. The soldiers nearby all pulled out their guns and the Lyoko Warriors were running for their lives. They fired streams of electricity at them and they soon realized they were trapped.

"We can't get out of here! Those soldiers have blocked the sewage hatch and we can't get to the boiler room." said Odd,

"Xana's really got us trapped." said Aelita.

* * *

Yumi and Ulrich arrived into the factory and found Hiroki already there. 

"Hiroki, where's everyone else?" asked Yumi,

"Jeremy called and said that all those soldiers have been possessed by Xana. They're all trapped in the school." said Hiroki.

"We better hurry then." said Ulrich.

He transformed into a black cloud and flew into the computer. Yumi typed away at the computer and looked at the screen.

"I've found the activated tower. Come on, Hiroki." said Yumi.

Hiroki nodded and they headed down to the scanner room after Yumi set up the automatic virtualization sequence.

* * *

Ulrich appeared in the Desert Sector and waited for Hiroki and Yumi to appear. They landed on the ground a few minutes later and stood up. 

"The activated tower is just ahead of us. It's the same one Xana used to overload the pylon with electricity and try to attack the nuclear power plant three years ago." said Yumi,

"Then let's hurry." said Ulrich.

* * *

Jeremy and the others ran for their lives as bullets and electricity flew around them only to hit the ground or a nearby tree. They quickly ran into the school to hide and ran into the library. They barricaded the door with heavy books and heard the soldiers slamming against the door from the other side. 

"Doesn't Xana know you're suppose to be quiet in a library?" asked Odd.

* * *

On Lyoko Yumi, Hiroki, and Ulrich were dealing with fifteen Crabs. Ulrich had already used his Triplicate ability to increase their numbers but they were still badly outnumbered. Already Hiroki was down to twenty life points while Yumi still had forty left. She threw her fans and managed to hit two of them. 

Hiroki pulled out his rod.

"Flare!"

It turned into a blazing red katana and he ran forward. A Crab fired at him but missed and he sliced the two front legs off and plunged the sword into the Eye.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran past the blockade of monsters and saw the oasis. He jumped and fell through the hole of water. He landed on the oval shaped land and looked at the activated tower. However the tower was guarded by two more Crabs.

"Would it actually kill Xana to make it easy for us just once?" muttered Ulrich.

He held out his swords and they glowed bright blue.

"Thunder Blade!"

He swung his swords and they both released a blue wave of energy that sliced both Crabs in two. Ulrich smirked as they exploded and ran into the tower.

* * *

The soldiers blasted the door away and looked at Jeremy, Odd, Sissy, and Aelita with hate in their Xana eyes.

* * *

Ulrich flew to the upper platform and landed on it gracefully.

* * *

The soldiers raised their hands that were full of electricity.

* * *

Ulrich placed his hand on the screen. 

ULRICH

CODE: LYOKO

The tower's color changed from blood red to white.

* * *

The symbol of Xana faded from the eyes of the soldiers and they collapsed. The others sighed in relief and smiled. 

"Return to the Past now!"


	37. Chapter 37

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Yumi hated her Italian class. She groaned while she studied. Between fighting Xana on Lyoko and class she had barely enough time to study. Sometimes she wished they could do a Return to the Past like they used to. 

She sighed in relief as the bell rang and walked out of the class. She entered the cafeteria and found the other Lyoko Warriors were sitting at their usual table. As usual Odd had overfilled his tray and scarfing it down. Jeremy and Aelita both had black rings around their eyes which was no doubt from staying up all night working on Lyoko and the program to free William.

"Hey, guys, please tell me there is something new." said Yumi,

"Well, the good news is that I'm almost done with the program that will free William from Xana's control. The problem is that Xana hasn't been making it easy for us. That's why I was working on some modifications for your Lyoko forms." said Jeremy.

"Really and what are these modifications?" asked Ulrich,

"Well, basically if you look it in one way Lyoko is like a game. When your health goes down to zero it's game over so basically what I did was created an extra copy of your Lyoko forms. Sort of like an extra life." said Jeremy.

"You mean if we're devirtualized all you have to do is load the copy and then we can be back on Lyoko even after just being devirtualized?" asked Yumi,

"For the lack of a better word; yes. It will give us an edge against Xana's monsters and William." said Jeremy.

"Cool! Unlimited monster vanquishing abilities!" said Odd,

"Let's not get carried away, Odd. These extra life points will just level the plan field against Xana's new monsters. In the mean time we should be able to finish the program to free William soon." said Jeremy.

"Should we test out this new program first though? No offense Jeremy, but there have been times when your new programs have backfired." said Ulrich,

"I know which is why I propose we give it a test after school today." said Jeremy.

"I could go first!" said Hiroki,

"No way. If something bad happens to you, Hiroki, I'll never be able to explain it to mom and dad." said Yumi.

"If we are lucky we can test it out before Xana attacks again." said Jeremy.

* * *

(Insert XANA attack Theme) 

In the Desert Sector of Lyoko a tower started to glow red.

* * *

In the hall of the dorms the lights started to glow brighter. Milly and Tamiya were walking through the hall when they saw the hall getting brighter and brighter. It was so bright that hall was soon replaced by a white void. 

Milly and Tamiya let out a loud scream. The Lyoko Warriors ran out of Jeremy's room and saw Milly and Tamiya were on their knees in the middle of the hall with their eyes covered.

"Milly? Tamiya? What's wrong?" asked Aelita,

"I can't see! I'm blind!" wailed Milly.

"What happened?" asked Sissy,

"The light bulbs all got so bright and then we couldn't see." said Tamiya, crying.

"Hiroki, take Milly and Tamiya to the infirmary." said Yumi.

Hiroki nodded and grabbed the two blind girls before leading them to the infirmary.

"This has Xana written all over it." said Ulrich,

"Agreed. The super scan just detected an activated tower in the Desert Sector." said Jeremy.

"The good news is that it looks like the bulbs shattered when they got too bright so we don't have to worry about getting blind." said Yumi,

"For now." said Aelita.

"I'll log onto Lyoko and get a head start on Xana's welcoming committee." said Ulrich,

"Agreed. The rest of us will take the long way." said Jeremy.

Ulrich nodded and vanished into a cloud of black smoke that vanished into Jeremy's laptop. Jeremy and the others took off towards the factory while being careful to avoid anymore light-bulbs in the hallway. They noticed Jim, the Principal, and along with nearly everyone in the school were affected by Xana's attack.

* * *

Ulrich landed in the Desert Sector and looked around carefully for any sign of Xana's minions. It seemed for now he was lucky because there was nothing from a Kankrelat to Xana himself in sight. He looked to see the tower glowing red in the distance and frowned. 

"Jeremy?"

* * *

Jeremy opened his laptop after he and the others safely arrived at the sewage hatch. He opened it up to communicate with Ulrich. 

"What is it, Ulrich?" asked Jeremy.

_"I can see the activated tower in the distance but that's the problem. Xana's not even trying to hide or defend it."_

"I see. Wait for us to get to the factory, Ulrich. We'll see what Xana's up to this time." said Jeremy.

* * *

They entered the factory and took the elevator down to the lab. Jeremy walked to the computer while the others headed down to the scanner room. Jeremy sat at the computer and looked carefully at the screen. In the last five minutes since he communicated with Ulrich not a single monster appeared. 

"Everyone keep a sharp eye out. There's not a single monster out there and that's got me worried." said Jeremy.

Everyone nodded and Odd, Yumi, and Aelita entered the scanners first.

_"Transfer Odd."_

_"Transfer Yumi."_

_"Transfer Aelita."_

_"Scanner Odd."_

_"Scanner Yumi."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Virtualization!"_

* * *

Ulrich sat on a boulder and waited for them to arrive when Odd, Yumi, and Aelita appeared. 

"Hey, guys. I've been waiting." said Ulrich,

"Anything new?" asked Yumi.

"Well some monsters finally appeared." said Ulrich.

He pointed to the tower that was on the other side of a rock bridge a hundred yards away from where the Lyoko Warriors materialized. Sissy materialized behind them a few seconds later and they surveyed the activated tower. In front of the tower were three Bloks that were armed and ready.

"Let's get this over with." said Ulrich.

The vehicles materialized in front of them and they jumped onto them when a fire storm of lasers fired and hit the Overwing which knocked Yumi and Sissy off it. They looked behind them to see several Bloks and Crabs appearing behind them.

"I knew this was too easy." said Ulrich,

"Ulrich, get to the tower. We'll deal with these guys." said Yumi.

She pulled out her fans while Sissy twirled her staff. Aelita activated her wings and took off towards the tower. Ulrich and Hiroki took off on the Overbike while Odd flew behind Aelita on the Overboard. Off course it was almost too easy and they were right.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

In flash of crimson electricity Xana appeared out of nowhere and jumped into the air. With the element of surprise on his side Xana quickly delivered a hard kick up Ulrich's chin which knocked him off the Overbike causing it to crash into a giant boulder. Ulrich rolled out of the way as Xana swung his trusty sword and sliced the desert surface where Ulrich was a second ago.

Ulrich got up and pulled out his swords. The Bloks noticed Odd and Aelita coming at them and fired. Odd quickly fired three shots and they made their way to the Eye on the monsters.

"Well, that was too easy." said Odd.

Off course the words 'too' and 'easy' usually meant a bad thing for the Lyoko Warriors.

"Odd! Behind you!" shouted Aelita.

He looked behind him to see a black fist that smashed into his face and sent him flying back. He landed on his back to see William holding his giant sword over his shoulder. Aelita quickly flew in to assist Odd when Jeremy interrupted.

_"Aelita, watch out! Three more monsters coming your way!"_

Aelita looked back to see three more Bloks in front of the tower unleash a deadly wave of lasers that shot at her. One managed to clip her wings that sent her falling to the floor. She fell to the ground and fired several energy orbs that managed to hit one of the monsters. Odd go up and fired his arrows but William fired a black ball of smoke that stopped the arrows in mid-air.

Odd kept on firing when he stopped and noticed that no matter how many arrows he fired William would just stop them with his smoke powers. William smirked and directed the arrows so they were facing Odd and sent them flying back. No matter how fast he was Odd was hit with his own arrows and devirtualized. William turned back to see Aelita destroying the two remaining Bloks.

He held up his sword and fired a energy wave that successfully hit Aelita in the back and devirtualized her.

_"Ulrich, Aelita's been devirtualized. It's up to you to deactivated the tower."_

"Thunder Blade!"

**"Lightning Arc!"**

Ulrich's blue energy wave collided with Xana's red spiral of electricity and created a large explosion. Yumi held her fans and swatted any laser aimed at her as she defended herself while Sissy twirled her staff blocking lasers from the monsters. Ulrich looked ahead to see that Xana had vanished and ran for the tower. He jumped over William's over sized sword and ran into the tower.

William growled and vanished into a ball of smoke as the monsters retreated. Ulrich entered the tower and traveled to the upper platform. He placed his hand on the screen.

ULRICH

CODE:

L

A virus awoke.

Y

Everything was ready.

O

Jeremy noticed something was wrong on the screen.

K

Something was entering Ulrich's data.

O

Xana's attack ended and the virus began its attack.

_"Return to the Past Now!"_

* * *

Jeremy ran into the hall and found Ulrich leaning against the wall. 

"Ulrich, what's wrong?" asked Jeremy,

"I don't know. I just feel . . . Wrong. Something's . . . Inside me!" shouted Ulrich.

The others ran into the hall and noticed Ulrich yell as he dissolved into a cloud of black smoke.

"Ulrich!" shouted Yumi.

The black cloud that was once Ulrich had vanished.

"Jeremy, what's happening?" demanded Yumi,

"It was a trap. A virus was placed in the tower and could only be activated when the Lyoko code was put into the tower." said Jeremy.

"Then that means that Xana's whole attack was nothing but a front for his real plan." said Aelita,

"Is there a way to save Ulrich?" asked Odd.

"Yes. There is way. The virus was meant to slowly delete Ulrich's data from Lyoko. We need to load his mind into the spare character program I made for him.

But we need an anti-virus to fully cure Ulrich's data from the virus. Aelita will need to find the data for the anti-virus which is in a tower somewhere. The spare program will slow down the virus' effects." said Jeremy.

"Than we need to hurry." said Sissy,

"Yeah, Xana won't make it easy for us to find the anti-virus." said Aelita.


	38. Chapter 38

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Jeremy typed away at the computer as he scanned through Lyoko. He looked carefully and soon enough the super scan detected an infected tower. 

"Well, I found the tower that activated the virus. It's in the Forest Sector and not a moment too soon. Everyone head down to the scanners." said Jeremy.

Everyone nodded and ran down to the scanner room.

"Transfer Odd."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Transfer Yumi."

"Scanner Odd."

"Scanner Aelita."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Virtualization."

* * *

Odd, Yumi, and Aelita landed on the ground and looked around the forest before jumping to dodge a wave lasers from three Bloks that appeared out of nowhere. Odd fired three arrows that hit their targets and destroyed the monster in a second. 

"We better hurry and find that tower." said Odd.

_"Watch out! Four more Bloks along with three Hornets heading your way!"_

Soon enough the monsters appeared and fired. Yumi back flipped, dodging the lasers and taking out her fans. She blocked the incoming lasers while Aelita fired energy orbs at them. However her attacks were not as fast as Odd so the Hornets were able to dodge and fire back.

Odd was having better luck as he fired several rounds and managed to hit one of the Bloks. Yumi threw hers fans that managed to slice through one Blok and one Hornet before returning to her hands.

"Thunder Blade!" shouted a voice.

A wave of blue energy blasted through the air and sliced through a Blok that caused it to shatter into deletion. Everyone looked to see Ulrich running up to them.

"Ulrich? What are you doing here?" asked Yumi,

"I came here to help." said Ulrich, simply.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" said Yumi, scolding him like an angry mother.

_"She's right, Ulrich. You're losing five life points every minute. I managed to upload the back-up copy so you have 195 life points so that leaves you thirty nine minutes to get to the tower as long as you don't get hit."_

"I am not going to sit by while there is still a chance to stop Xana." said Ulrich.

Yumi shook her head at his stubborn attitude and Sissy and Hiroki appeared. Jeremy sent the vehicles and they were on their way to the tower. It wasn't long before they had unwanted company. A laser fired and flew past Ulrich's head.

They looked back to see William rising his Black Manta with two more Flying Mantas flying with him as wing mates. They fired a steady stream of lasers at their targets.

"Energy Field!"

"Laser Arrow!"

"Fire Ball!"

Hiroki, Odd, and Aelita fired their own barrage of energy weapons back at them but William only blocked them with his giant sword and the Mantas avoided the attacks. The Lyoko Warriors had more than William to worry about as a barrage of lasers fired from below. It hit managed to hit the Overbike and Ulrich was sent flying across the ground and landed to see two Megatanks and one Crab. The first Megatank fired its laser but Ulrich avoided and ran forward.

"Super Flash!"

A golden streak blasted through the few yards between the monster and the samurai and Ulrich leapt up.

"Impact!"

He successfully stabbed the monster in the Eye and jumped back as the monster exploded. However he did not see the second Megatank fired and hit him. He was sent flying a tree and hit it with a loud thud.

_"Ulrich you just lost hundred life points! Now you only have eighty five life points left and that means you only have sixteen minutes left!"_

Yumi jumped down and blocked a laser from the Crab. She looked behind her to see Ulrich. He was in a sitting position with his legs crumpled beneath him and his arms down at his sides. He was merely stunned.

She turned back to see the Crab fire and jumped. She whipped out her fans and managed to successfully hit the monster. Her second fan managed to hit the Megatank and it exploded. She turned back to see Ulrich getting up.

_"Five more life points lost, Ulrich."_

"We better hurry and get to that tower." said Yumi, urgently.

Ulrich nodded and then looked in front of her.

"Look out!"

He ran forward as he lopped his arm around Yumi's shoulder and jerked her down to the ground with him as William flew in on his Manta and fired at them. His Manta flew right over them and William jumped off and landed on the ground with such force it created a small crater. Yumi and Ulrich would have blushed at their closeness if it wasn't for the fact that they were virtual and the fact that they were now facing a certain boy possessed by a certain psycho AI. William twirled his giant sword in his hands as the Flying Mantas circled them.

"Laser Arrow!"

"Energy Field!"

Two blurs of gold and pink flew through the air and blasted two of the Mantas. Sissy, Hiroki, Odd, and Aelita landed on the ground and prepared to fight.

"Don't worry about us! Just get to the tower!" said Yumi,

"We can handle William." said Ulrich.

_"They're right. Ulrich only has eight minutes left."_

They nodded with reluctance and jumped onto their vehicles and flew towards the tower. William smirked. He twirled his sword and charged. Ulrich thrusted at William who managed to block and swung at Ulrich's mid section.

Ulrich managed to bend back wards as the blade just barely passed over him. Yumi threw her fans but William blocked and swung his blade. Yumi black flipped again and caught her fans. Ulrich swung his sword but William dodged by stepping back and then leapt into the air with his sword raised high.

Yumi was about to attack again but she was forced onto the defensive as the Black Manta fired at her. She kept on blocked and threw her fans. The Manta fired at and managed to hit one of the fans in mid-air causing it to fall while avoiding the other one. Yumi caught her last fan and jumped back at the Black Manta fired again.

* * *

_"Odd, you and the others are about to come up on a squad of Dark Kankrelats."_

"No problem, Jeremy."

As he finished the monsters came into sight. As Ulrich and Aelita described they looked just except they more purple than the normal Kankrelat. The Darkrelats just stared them as if daring them to make the first move. Odd accepted the challenged and flew at them on his Overboard.

"Laser Arrow!"

He fired several shots that mostly missed but just as one was about to hit it managed to side-step the attack and fired a laser that hit Odd between the eyes and sent him falling to the ground. The Overboard kept flying until it crashed into a tree. He looked at the new monsters.

"These Darkrelats are some darn good shots." said Odd.

That was when Jeremy decided to speak.

_"Odd, you have to hurry. Ulrich now has seven minutes left and worse there is a Scorpion guarding the tower."_

They looked to see the red mist enveloped tower and the massive monster was in dead guarding it but there was someone standing on top of the Scorpion as it approached.

**"Well, Odd, how do you like the new Kankrelats? I hope you enjoy getting shot by them as much as I enjoyed making them."**

With that said Xana leapt off the Scorpion and landed in front of them. He reached behind his back and in a flash of red electricity appeared his sword. Xana raced at them with his sword as Sissy stepped in front of them and blocked with her staff.

"Laser Arrows!" shouted Odd.

Xana simply shoved Sissy back and swung his sword in front and successfully knocked the arrows away. His sword started to glow even brighter red.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

He fired the unpleasantly familiar wave of red colored electricity which Odd dodged by a few inches. Sissy swung her staff but Xana kneed her in the stomach which caused her to grunt out of instinct rather than the pain she could not feel as she was sent flying back.

"You know, Xana, that's no way to treat a lady. If you want I could give you some pointers." said Odd.

**"As if anyone would come to you for advice."**

Odd grunted and leapt into the air firing a stream of Laser Arrows.

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Xana sped away in a flash of red lightning and reappeared behind Odd before diving his fist into Odd's back and sending him flying. He landed face first in the ground. He pulled his head up and placed his hands under his face.

"No respect." grumbled the cat like boy.

"Energy Field!"

A blast of pink energy managed to hit Xana and send him flying back. Aelita was seen holding her palm open with a smug look on her face. However the Scorpion roared and lunged at her. She took off into the air and avoided the lasers being fired from its beak as she tried to hit the Eye on top of its head.

* * *

Ulrich grunted as William sent him flying back. 

_"Forty Life Points left Ulrich."_

Ulrich glared hatefully at William as he smirked and charged. Ulrich's swords started to glow blow and he swung his blades to meet William's much larger sword.

"Thunder Blade!"

Ulrich's swords collided with William's in a head on clash and the glowing swords cut through the much large sword like a knife cutting butter. William stared in shock at his now short by half blade Yumi leapt at him and kicked him in the chest. He hit the ground hard but he got back up and glared at Yumi and Ulrich. He held up his now shirt sword and prepared to fire his crescent wave again when Yumi leapt him and tossed he last fan which managed to slice through William and he disappeared in a blast of red and black smoke.

Yumi finally managed to destroy the Black Manta and smiled at Ulrich for finally defeating William. He was distracted for a second and that was enough for the hidden Hornet that hovering behind him to charge its shot.

* * *

Despite being outnumbered Xana had Odd and Sissy completely outmatched with his superior strength, speed, and intelligence. Xana had been having so much fun tossing them around like a pair of rag dolls. Aelita and Hiroki were having a little like with the Scorpion. Hiroki used his Flame Rain to distract it while Aelita charged her most powerful energy orb. 

She held it above her head and fired it and it managed to hit the Scorpion head on. The monster screamed in pure agony while running around for a few seconds before its body exploded leaving behind its tail which vanished a few seconds later.

"All right!" cheered Hiroki.

He only had a few seconds to celebrate as Xana fired his Lightning Arc which successfully hit Hiroki and devirtualized him. Aelita took off towards the tower and Xana prepared to use his Lightning Sprint to catch up with her when he heard something. He looked down at his feet to see that Sissy had used her webbing and could look as she pulled and caused him to trip. He glared back at her and pointed his sword at her.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

His sword fired the blast of crimson lightning that hit Sissy in the chest and devirtualized her.

* * *

_"Only three minutes left, Ulrich."_

Ulrich nodded and looked at Yumi. He only had a second as the hidden Hornet took the opportunity to fire. The laser successfully hit Ulrich in the back and nearly knocked him over. Yumi screamed and threw her fan but it missed and the Hornet charged and fired its laser again.

_"Twenty Life points left Ulrich!"_

The Hornet fired a volley of lasers but Ulrich deflected them with his swords and threw one of them. He managed to exact revenge on the monster as it exploded.

"Jeremy are they at the tower yet?" asked Yumi, fearfully.

_"There almost there. They were ambushed by Xana and a Scorpion but they managed to slip Aelita past the defense. It's up to her now."_

* * *

Aelita successfully ran into the tower and started to fly up to the upper platform.

* * *

"Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd. 

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Odd only had a second to glance as the crimson blade pierced his virtual body and sent him back into the real world. Xana stood up and looked back to the tower. He knew there was no point in trying now. It was too late.

He smirked and walked over to the edge and jumped. Seconds before hitting the Digital Sea his body vanished into a cloud of black and red smoke.

* * *

Aelita landed on the upper platform of the tower.

* * *

Ulrich looked down as his Lyoko form started to devirtualize. He looked back to see Yumi with a look of horror upon her face.

* * *

Aelita placed her hand on the screen.

* * *

Yumi ran up to him and hugged him hard.

* * *

AELITA 

CODE: LYOKO

* * *

The tower changed color from red to white. 

_"Return to the Past, now!"_

* * *

Ulrich looked around and found himself back in Jeremy's dorm. He looked at the blond genius with a smile. 

"That was a little close." said Ulrich,

"Yeah." agreed Jeremy.

Suddenly the door opened and Ulrich looked to see something tackle him. He looked up to see Yumi.

"Hey." said Ulrich, smiling.

"Hey." said Yumi, smiling back.


	39. Chapter 39

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

The bell rang and everyone started heading for their classes. 

"Okay, everyone get to your classes. Stern, Belpois, Stones, Della Robbia, that means you too!" barked Jim.

Everyone walked into their class and the Lyoko gang sat beside each other. They noticed Jeremy had been up for most of the night again.

"Man, Einstein has been pushing himself lately." said Odd,

"Well, he said he is almost finished with the program to free William." said Aelita.

* * *

In the Ice Sector of Lyoko in a western area of the icy region William stood in the clearing awaiting his orders. Xana walked out of a nearby tower, his figure sending red ripples through the vine like entrance as he stepped out. William walked over to his master. 

"Master Xana." said William, bowing.

**"Chance after chance I have given you to finish the Lyoko Warriors and every time you come crawling back to me for forgiveness. My patience in you is running thin, William."**

William flinched at the icy tone of Xana's voice. He was not pleased and William of all people knew what happened when Xana was not happy. He would have run away but he stayed and looked into his master's red eyes.

**"Perhaps I have been relying too much on you, William."**

"Please, give me another chance to finish them. I'll prove I can finish the job." said William, bowing before his master.

**"Perhaps but not today."**

Xana whipped his back to William and walked into the tower. As he entered the aura changed from white to red. William sneered at the tower.

* * *

At the local carnival a black specter came out of the power lines and floated over the lion's cage. It began to lower itself down and the lion awoke with its instincts screaming danger. It looked up and roared at the intruder. The specter lunged at the lion and engulfed it. 

Once it covered the lion the black shadow was seemingly absorbed into the lion's fur. The beast's slitted pupils were replaced by the symbol of Xana. It roared and burst out of the cage. Following its master's commands it ran into the city.

The carnival owner ran out when it heard some noise and found an empty cage.

"Where's my lion!?"

* * *

BBBBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGG! 

Class had ended for the morning and the students headed down to the lunch.

"So what's for lunch this time?" asked Jeremy,

"Ravioli." said Aelita.

"And a side salad but watch for the tomatoes." said Sissy,

"It's a good thing I don't have to eat what with me living in specter form." said Ulrich.

"I really pity you, Ulrich. Not wanting to taste the fine cuisine. All well more for me." said Odd,

"I really don't know how you can eat that stuff, Odd." said Yumi.

"You're stomach is like a black hole." said Hiroki,

"Hey! I'm just a growing boy." said Odd.

"Who's managed to stay scrawny through all that eating." said Sissy,

"I'm not scrawny! I'm svelte." said Odd.

Suddenly Jeremy's computer started beeping. He opened it to reveal the super scan had detected an activated tower.

"Bad news, everyone. Activated tower." said Jeremy,

"Oh no! Why can't Xana attack after lunch?!" wailed Odd.

* * *

The lion waited in the forest near the sewer hatch that the Lyoko Warriors used to get to the factory. It crouched down behind a few bushes allowing its animal instincts to kick in as it waited for its master's prey.

* * *

The Lyoko Warriors ran through the forest. 

"Any idea what Xana's planned this time?" asked Hiroki,

"We'll have to wait and find out." said Jeremy.

Just as they were about to open the sewer hatch they heard a growl. Ulrich looked around and his flashed when he saw movement.

"Look out!"

He pushed Jeremy and Aelita out of the way as a lion jumped out of its hiding place and tried to pounce the two geniuses. The lion growled at them with the Eye of Xana pulsing in the place of its slitted pupils.

"Nice kitty, kitty, kitty. Good kitty." said Odd with his hands raised.

The lion growled at Odd while showing its sharp teeth.

"I said I wanted a slice of salad not a slice of me!" complained Odd,

"You don't want to try and eat Odd, Xana, you have no idea where he's been." said Ulrich.

"Hey!" shouted Odd,

"What? I had to put cork up my nose when you took off your shoes." said Ulrich,

"And I fainted when I took them off during that time I was in your body." said Yumi.

The lion growled in impatience and flexed its claws.

"You guys get to Lyoko while I deal with 'Aslan'." said Ulrich,

"But Ulrich . . ." started Yumi.

"Don't argue! I cannot be hurt since I'm in specter form. I'll be all right. So go and save the world." said Ulrich.

The others nodded and jumped into the sewer while Yumi looked back for a second and followed the others. Ulrich looked at the lion as roared and jumped at him. Ulrich jumped back and landed on a tree branch.

He looked down as the lion glared at him with the symbol of Xana pulsing with hate. The lion jumped again but this time it was right above Ulrich. He jumped again and the lion slashed the tree branch, cutting it from the tree which caused it to fall with the lion.

"Great, it's a good thing this specter body can give me enhanced speed and agility but it looks like Xana did the same thing to that lion." muttered Ulrich.

* * *

In just a few minutes the gang found themselves at the factory. 

"Okay, everyone, you're all heading for the Ice Sector." said Jeremy, over the loud speaker.

Everyone nodded. Aelita, Odd, and Sissy entered the scanners.

"Transfer Aelita. Transfer Odd. Transfer Sissy. Scanner Aelita. Scanner Odd. Scanner Sissy. Virtualization!"

* * *

They landed in the Ice Sector just as Jeremy wanted them to and looked around. They waited for a few seconds as Yumi and Hiroki were virtualized and landed on the icy surface. 

_"Here are you vehicle."_

Yumi hopped onto the Overwing with Sissy behind her while Aelita took the Overbike and Odd and Hiroki took the Overboard. They took off towards the tower and soon enough it was in sight.

"I see it." said Yumi.

However the tower was not without protection. Three Crabs were between them and the tower. Everyone got ready when Hiroki noticed something.

"Hey those cracks in the ice don't look natural." said Hiroki,

"Looks like we might have another trap on our hands." said Odd.

As if on cue five Bloks busted out of the ice and surrounded them. If that wasn't enough a Knight busted out of the ground and twirled its sword in its hands. Everyone drew their weapons and Odd started off by firing a few arrows.

"Laser Arrows!" shouted Odd.

However his arrows missed the Eye of Xana by a few centimeters which left him open to attack and he was hit in the chest by a laser.

_"Odd you just lost thirty life points."_

Yumi yelled and threw her fans but they merely struck the side of the creature which caused it to spin uncontrollably.

"I'm going to try this again. Laser Arrow!" said Odd.

This time his arrow hit the Eye of Xana which caused it to explode. Sissy faced down her own Blok as she twirled her staff. She threw it like a javelin that struck the monster's weak point.

"Just four more to go!" said Sissy.

Yumi threw her fans but the Knight blocked the two incoming weapons with its sword and grabbed Yumi's arm with his armored hand. She screamed as it swung her around.

"Put my sister down!" shouted Hiroki.

He jumped and aimed a high kick at the Knight's head when it released Yumi and she flew into her younger brother. They quickly rolled out of the way as the Knight swung its sword. Odd blocked lasers with his shield while Aelita fired several rounds that missed the monsters. Sissy recklessly charged out and used her staff as pole vault in front of a Blok.

It spun its head and released fire rings which Sissy avoided but did not count on another Blok firing its ice laser. It successfully froze her leg and she watched as she was helpless before two enemy monsters.

"Laser Arrow!"

"Energy Field!"

Aelita and Odd's sudden combo was able to take out two of the last three Bloks. However that left room for the last Blok to charge its laser and attack. Sissy braced herself but a wall of ice appeared in front of her and took the shot.

"Thanks, Aelita." said Sissy.

Odd quickly fired a laser arrow which destroyed the last Blok.

"Hey! What am I? Chopped feline?" asked Odd.

"Flame Shield!"

A wall of fire blocked the Knight's large sword.Yumi threw her fans but the Knight blocked with its sword to protect the Eye on its chest. Hiroki jumped back as the Knight swung again. Odd and Aelita were almost at the tower when the Crabs started attacking.

"Laser Arrow!"

"Energy Field!"

Unfortunately the Crabs managed to side step their attacks and charge their lasers. One managed to hit Odd in the chest which sent him flying back.

_"Odd, you lost forty life points."_

* * *

"Back off, you stupid cat!" 

Ulrich kept on jumping and evading strikes from the possessed lion. It started to circle Ulrich as it licked its lips.

* * *

Sissy twirled her staff as she jumped on a Crab's back and stabbed it in the Eye. She jumped back as the monster exploded. She landed only for one of the last two Crabs to shoot her and wiped what was left of her life points. 

"Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd.

His arrow hit the Crab that shot Sissy avenging her defeat and reducing the enemy number to one last Crab. Aelita activated her wings and flew over the monster as Odd kept it busy with a barrage of arrows. She entered the tower and the platform glowed showing Xana's symbol. She flew up to the upper platform.

* * *

The lion pounced on Ulrich and licked its lips.

* * *

Aelita opened up a panel and placed her hand on it. 

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

"Tower Deactivated."

* * *

The lion fell over and started to sleep. 

"Xana, you have the worst sleeping habits." said Ulrich.

* * *

_"Return to the Past now!"_

* * *


	40. Chapter 40

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

"Impact!"

Ulrich's sword sliced through and destroyed a Dark Kankrelat.

This time Xana attacked by making the boiler at the school explode. No one had died but people were hurt. So far Sissy was helping the injured while the rest were fighting to get to the activated tower in the Mountain Sector. Odd had been devirtualized so now it was just Ulrich, Aelita, Hiroki, and Yumi fighting through several hoards of monsters and William. Ulrich and Aelita headed for the tower when they were both knocked down by lasers.

They looked up to see a swarm of Dark Hornets. Yumi threw her fans and missed a few but managed to clip one Dark Hornet's wings forcing it to crash face first into the mountain and explode into deletion. Hiroki charged the swarm but he was hit by two lasers.

"Attack!" shouted William.

_"Hiroki, you've only got ten life points left."_

William charged forward with his sword raised but Yumi side tripped him and Ulrich slashed him which sent him falling off the mountains and into the Digital Sea. Aelita ducked into the tower as the Dark Hornets came around again.

_"Good job, guys. Mission accomplished. Aelita is in the tower and we managed to stop Xana in record time."_

"And we just sent William limping back to his master." said Ulrich.

* * *

William appeared out of a black ball of smoke as he landed back in the Volcano Sector. He looked at his shattered sword and dented body armor. He looked up to see Xana sitting on a giant boulder looking down at him.

"Real fair. One of me and six of them. Nice odds, Xana." said William.

Xana noticed the mad tone and narrowed his eyes. He whipped out his sword before William could even see and held his sword at the boy's throat.

**"Don't take that tone with me, William. I have given you command over my monsters and upgrade your powers to be most formidable even against six Lyoko Warriors."**

He stepped back and let William stand up.

"The power's are real nice but ever since Ulrich got back he and his buddies have been whipping me all over Lyoko. The least you could have done is try to provide some sort of effort to help me." complained William.

William was unusually disobedient today. Xana noticed that as he sent a hard glare to make a message that said 'One more complaint and you're dead'. He walked around and noticed several monsters watching. He picked up a rock and tossed it into the Digital Sea just so that he could see the splash.

"Don't you have some way to stop those guys from beating us? All of your last seven attacks were just random possessions and explosions." said William.

**"I am aware of that William! It does not help me that you come back and complain to me after you failed. I sent you to stop them and we lose because you tripped and fell off the edge."**

"You're the one who got his butt handed him when you faced Ulrich after he got back." said William.

**"Silence! We are running out of options and I am running patience! I have placed too much faith in you and it seems you're not capable of eliminating the warriors. So now I will find one who can stop them!"**

"How? You can't possess the Lyoko Warriors because they're immune to your infection. That's the side effect of the virtualization process." said William.

**"I know, William. But things have changed since then. I have been working on a program that should allow me recruit a new warrior for my army. Now go and rest! **

**I have a mission for you tomorrow."**

William nodded and walked away. What he did not know was that Xana was planning on more than just recruiting a new agent with more potential than William.

**"A toast to your latest victory Lyoko Warriors because it will be your last!"**

* * *

"All right! That's got to be our seventh fight against Xana this week!" said Odd,

"What's better is that the program to free William and Ulrich's body from Xana's control is almost ready." said Aelita.

"And then bye bye Xana." said Ulrich.

* * *

William jumped from a tree and landed on the ground as he looked around the Forest Sector. In front of the tower were two Tarantulas, two Crabs, five Bloks, and one Megatank. Xana appeared in a flash of red light and walked towards the tower. He entered the tower and its aura changed from white to red.

* * *

Somewhere in the real world in a military base a specter oozed out of the power lines and engulfed the entire base. The computer monitors now showed the Eye of Xana and a countdown started. Soon enough the entity typed in the coordinates of the missiles.

KADIC ACADEMY

TARGET LOCKED

LAUNCH IN 140 MINUTES

* * *

After chemistry class the seven friends for the cafe. It was all quiet as the Lyoko Warriors discussed their plan.

"All we have to now is launch the program and we should be able to free William. However it will be a bit more difficult with freeing Ulrich's body from Xana's control." said Jeremy,

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." said Ulrich.

As if on cue, the super scan detected an activated tower.

"Activated tower." said Jeremy,

"Let's go." said Aelita.

* * *

TIME LEFT TO LAUNCH: 18:39

"Everyone get to the scanners. I'll see what Xana is up to this time. By the way William is there. Get ready everyone." said Jeremy.

Everyone nodded and headed down to the scanners. Ulrich turned into a black cloud and flew into the computer as he logged onto Lyoko.

"Transfer Odd."

"Transfer Yumi."

"Transfer Aelita."

"Scanner Odd."

"Scanner Yumi."

"Scanner Aelita."

"Virtualization."

* * *

They landed in the Forest Sector of Lyoko with Ulrich waiting for them. They walked up to him and he nodded.

"So where's the tower?" asked Yumi.

_"The tower is located northwest."_

"You mind sending us our vehicles?" asked Odd.

_"Already on it."_

"Not yet, Jeremy." said Yumi.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Yumi?" asked Odd.

She lifted her finger and pointed ahead. Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita looked to see two Tarantulas in front of them armed and ready. Yumi threw her fans at the enemy force but a sudden blast of lasers sent them flying back to her. Ulrich ran at them and slashed with his swords.

The enemy monsters jumped back and fired. Ulrich quickly blocked with his twin swords but the lasers were ricocheted off his swords and hit Odd and Yumi decreasing their life points.

"Energy Field!"

Aelita fired several energy orbs but the Tarantulas ducked and fired back. Yum flipped through the air skillfully avoiding lasers and throwing her fans again which managed to slice through the guns on one of them. They fell to the ground and the monster was quickly dispatched with an energy orb fired from Aelita.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran ahead avoiding lasers while he ran up a tree with the Tarantula trying to target him. He kicked off the tree and flipped through the air above the Tarantula. Twisting one of his swords and he threw it down with all of his might and it stabbed the Eye. He gracefully landed on the ground and caught his sword as the monster exploded.

_"Great job, everyone. Here are the vehicles."_

The Overboard, Overbike, and the Overwing appeared in front of them.

* * *

TIME LEFT TO LAUNCH: 16:37

* * *

"So, Jeremy what's Xana up to this time?" asked Aelita.

_"He's taken over a missile base somewhere and has directed two of the missiles at the school and the factory."_

"WHAT?!" shouted everyone.

_"Yes and you all have less then fifteen minutes left in the countdown."_

"Then let's hurry." said Ulrich.

After he finished that sentence he was sent crashing to the ground as the Overbike was suddenly hit by a sudden blast of lasers. He looked to see the red glowing tower with five Bloks, two Crabs, one Megatank, and William. His blades glowed blue as he twirled and swung them.

"Thunder Blade!"

He released two energy waves that cut the two Crabs in half. He jumped as the Megatank fired and a fan flew down and slashed through the Eye causing the monster to explode. Aelita and Odd fired several waves of energy orbs and arrows that decimated the Blok patrol. William ran at Ulrich like a rocket but Ulrich jumped and William ran head first into a tree.

"Go back to your master and tell him he won't win, William." said Ulrich.

**'Why not tell it to my face, Ulrich?"**

Ulrich turned around only to see a fist smash into his skull and send him flying back. The Lyoko Warriors looked to see Xana smirking at them. Ulrich got up and brandished his swords. Yumi pulled out her fans, Odd cocked his wrist launchers, and an orb of pink energy appeared in the palm of Aelita's hand.

Xana glanced at each Lyoko Warrior before pulling out his sword.

**"Let's start this party with a bang!"**

"Aelita, get to the tower." said Ulrich.

Suddenly William appeared beside Xana and held his over sized sword over his shoulder. Xana slowly reached over his back and in a flash of crimson lightning appeared his sword as if it was always there.

"Super Smoke!"

**"Lightning Sprint!"**

Both of them vanished in puff of black smoke and a flash of red lightning. Ulrich looked up to see Xana with his sword above his head as he fell from the air above Ulrich. The samurai blocked with his swords. The warrior and the super virus exchanged slashes without giving any headway.

Yumi threw her fans but William appeared and blocked with his giant sword. William held up his sword and it glowed light purple before releasing a purple wave of energy. Yumi flipped through the air and skillfully avoided the attack. Odd fired several rounds but William used his Super Smoke to avoid the attack and reappeared behind the cat like warrior.

"Triplicate!"

Soon enough one Ulrich became three and charged at Xana. The virus jumped into the air and swung his sword down as it glowed red.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

Ulrich avoided the last but his two copies were blasted by the blast of crimson lightning. Aelita ran for the tower but a Crab came out of its hiding place and hit with a few laser shots. The Crab looked at the battle and noticed William was pushing Yumi close to the edge. Yumi threw her fans but the Crab fired a laser that hit one of her fans and deleted it.

William smirked and on his command his Black Manta flew out from under the path and fired several lasers that directly hit Odd in the chest. Aelita ran into tower when she saw the Crab was distracted. Xana smirked as Aelita entered the tower. The Crab than charged forward as Yumi used her last fan to absorb the lasers fired from the Black Manta and jumped back from William's sword.

"Yumi!" shouted Ulrich.

That was when both Xana and William gained up on the samurai. William's brute strength combined with Xana's speed and well placed strikes were what kept Ulrich on the defense. Yumi threw her fan but the Crab knocked it out of her hand with a laser and one of its scythe like legs kicked out and into her chest before tossing her over the edge.

"Yumi!"

_"Yumi!"_

Aelita quickly took care of deactivating the tower.

AELITA

CODE: LYOKO

The tower changed from red to white but it was too late. A splash was heard and Xana jumped over the edge and vanished in a puff of black smoke and William entered the sea on his Black Manta.

* * *

In the Digital Sea was a red and black glowing orb. Inside the orb was the outline of a girl. Two eel like monsters came out of nowhere as the sea turned blood red and guided it to the nearest Replica. The door opened and the orb flew in.

It was a Replica of the Desert Sector. Xana looked down at the Digital Sea as he sat over the edge with his legs dangling over the abyss. He tossed several rocks and enjoyed the splashes the rocks made. He looked down at the red and black orb and remembered how many times Yumi fell into the sea only to come back.

She had an annoying habit of being saved but today was different. The Replica was no more than a desert island with a tower on the other end. Some monsters were behind Xana as he waited. The Kankrelats scuttled around, a Megatank rolled around while sometimes opening its shell, Crabs strolled around, while a Tarantula sat beside him.

The orb came up in front of him and he stood up. The orb landed and Yumi fell out. The Scyphozoa came out of nowhere and grabbed her. First it stole her human DNA again and then stole her memories before implanting new memories in her head.

Xana walked into the tower and pulled out an interface.

YUMI'S MEMORY FILES

95

YUMI'S MIND

5

Xana then looked at another file.

LYOKO FORM YUMI

**"Time for a little change, Yumi. Can't have your mind completely empty. Everything that is left will be Lyoko and your master's name."**

Xana typed in several commands.

**"Now let's see what we can upgrade you with. Telekinetic powers as your ability well about we combine that with telepathy, huh Yumi? Telepathic abilities combined with the Telekineses. Now the vehicle design could use a little bit of an upgrade as well."**

Xana typed in several more commands and launched the program. He watched as the data was downloaded and started to shape itself. Soon enough Yumi's form started to change outside the tower. The gathered monsters watched with curiosity.

**"Something tells me William will be happy. Might stop him from complaining about how Ulrich has been kicking his virtual butt. Telekineses has been upgrade, new ability has been downloaded."**

Xana walked out of the tower and looked at his new soldier. Her body suit was now colored black with blood red lines and the Eye of Xana on her back. Her armor plates were completely black and her battle oriented shoes were black as well. Her hair now had red streaks through it.

Her fans changed to two crossbows on her forearms and each was loaded with a black wheel shaped blade. Yumi opened her eyes and stood up.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" asked Yumi, bowing before Xana.

**"A warrior named Ulrich Stern. You will find him for me and eliminate him."**


	41. Chapter 41

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Everyone was gathered in the lab. Hiroki was crying into Ulrich's shirt as he patted the younger boy's head. Jeremy sat in his chair looking down, Sissy and Aelita sat against the wall while Odd banged his fists against the wall. 

"Jeremy, can't you bring her back with that program you used three years ago?" asked Odd,

"You mean the one you made by dropping candy on my keyboard? I wish I could but that was a one time program. I have no idea how to remake it." said Jeremy.

"What about the one that you made to bring William, Daddy, and Ulrich's body back?" asked Aelita.

Jeremy pondered this for a moment.

"Yes that might work. I will need some time to set up the program but . . ." said Jeremy,

"Can you really do it? Can you really bring her back?" asked Hiroki, looking up from Ulrich's shirt.

Jeremy hesitated as if not wanting to raise the little boy's hopes.

"I can try. I'll do everything I can to bring her back." said Jeremy.

Hiroki smiled and Ulrich placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. For the next two hours they had been working on the program to bring Yumi back. Actually Jeremy and Aelita did while Odd was tossing a ball to Hiroki and the boy tossed it back. The purple clad boy had been trying to cheer up Yumi's little brother.

Sissy was slumped against the wall, Ulrich had been watching everyone. Jeremy had finally finished the program and everyone was right behind him.

"Will it work?" asked Sissy,

"Only one way to find out." said Jeremy.

He was about to launch the program when the super scan went off. Everyone groaned and cursed Xana for interfering.

"Activated tower in the Mountain Sector." said Jeremy,

"We'll have to wait for bringing Yumi back. We can't ignore an activated tower." said Aelita.

"Xana better have a good welcoming committee." said Ulrich.

He changed into his specter form and flew into the computer. In the Ice Sector Ulrich landed on the icy surface and looked around. He looked around and noticed no monsters. He was fairly close to the tower and no monsters, no William, not even Xana himself.

-I knew you would come-

Ulrich looked around. He heard a voice but he did not see anyone.

"Jeremy, what is going on?" asked Ulrich.

_"Xana has just shut down the scanners. I can't virtualize anyone on Lyoko to help you."_

"I heard a voice before I started talking to you, Jeremy. Did you hear anyone?" asked Ulrich.

_"No and my radar has not detected anyone or any monsters in the sector."_

-You came just like my master predicted-

That was when he heard something. He looked behind and jumped out of the way as a black disk shaped projectile flew out of nowhere and attempted to hit him. Several more disk launched out of nowhere but Ulrich had pulled out his swords and blocked them.

-Come to me-

Once again he heard a voice. He looked around and felt the voice pulling him away from the tower.

_"Ulrich! Where are you?!"_

Ulrich tuned out Jeremy's voice and continued to walk in the direction the voice was guiding him.

-That's right. Come to me. Ignore everything else-

Ulrich walked into an icy cave and looked around. He found himself in a large circular room made of ice and looked.

-Good boy. You came. Now we can start-

"Who are you?" asked Ulrich,

"Look behind you." said a voice.

Ulrich turned around and the figure's appearance filled him with complete shock and horror. Everyone in the lab looked at the monitor in shock. Hiroki looked on in horror.

"Sis . . ."

Back on Lyoko Ulrich looked to see she had changed. Gone was her colored body suit, replaced by a pitch black suit with blood red lines and the Eye of Xana on her back. Two crossbows were now mounted on her forearms which each contained a black wheel shaped blade. Her hair now had red streaks and her eyes were no longer filled with the same sparkling eyes he had fallen in love with.

They were now filled with malice.

The next few minutes were nothing but silence but inside Ulrich's mind was anything but. His mind flashed with images of all the times the two spent together.

"Yumi?" asked Ulrich . . .

. . . that was when the tension broke.

Yumi raised her arms and fired her projectiles. Ulrich quickly jumped out of the way and avoided the three disks. As he dodged his gaze never left her. His hands tried to reach for his swords but he couldn't.

He had to attack. He had to defend himself. He had to know if this was the real Yumi or not. Ulrich pulled out his swords and ran at her.

"Super Flash!"

It was now or never. As he got closer to her time seemed to slow down. She did not make a move but she smirked. He was just inches from her when she vanished.

Ulrich's eyes widened and then spun around to block a disk shaped projectile from behind. He may have blocked the attack but the force of it sent him off his feet and flying several feet back. Ulrich sat up and looked to see Yumi smirking at him. He got up and held out his swords.

* * *

Everyone in the lab looked on in suspense. 

"Is that really, Yumi?" asked Aelita,

"Her digital signature matches the original one. That's our Yumi." said Jeremy.

"Than why is she attacking Ulrich!?" cried Hiroki,

"This has Xana written all over it." said Odd.

"There's still noting we can do. The scanners are off line so Ulrich is on his own. I just hope he can survive. Her speed is beyond anything I've seen before.

It looks like even Ulrich's Super Flash is having a hard time keeping up with her." said Jeremy,

"But he can beat her right?" asked Sissy.

"I don't know. While Ulrich is the fastest Yumi is very well balanced. She is talented in both defense and offense. It does not help that her speed has increased and before she was skilled in both close range and long range attacks." said Jeremy.

* * *

Ulrich slashed at her left, but Yumi blocked. He kept slashing but Yumi kept blocking. He jumped back and Yumi fired her Disk Launchers. Instead of blocking with his swords Ulrich relied on his speed to avoid the projectiles. 

"Triplicate!"

He split into three Ulrichs and charged forward. Yumi fired her Disk Launchers but Ulrich was already in motion. Already Ulrich's two duplicates were deleted but Ulrich's swords glowed bright blue.

"Thunder Blade!"

The energy wave tore through Yumi's disk like projectiles and headed for her. She gritted her teeth and jumped out of the way. Only for Ulrich to slam into her and the hard collision sent them both rolling across the ground. Ulrich came out on top and held his sword at her throat.

-Drop the sword-

Ulrich's eyes widened when he dropped his blade. Yumi took advantage and drew both her knees up and kicked with both of her feet which sent Ulrich flying. Yumi pounced on Ulrich and held his crossbow down on his face. Before she could fire Ulrich twisted her wrists.

Yumi shouted in pain and tried to pull her arms back into position. In the process two disks were fired that hit the ground right next to both of Ulrich's ears. Yumi jumped back and fired but Ulrich rolled out of the way and used Super Flash avoid the incoming wave of wheel shaped blades.

He picked up his fallen swords and charged at Yumi. She seemed to know what he was planning and vanished. She reappeared behind Ulrich and grasped him from behind with one arm tightly around his neck. Ulrich was all too aware of the vulnerable position and snapped his head back.

Yumi's was sent flying from the impact she received from the back of Ulrich's skull. She hissed in pain and fired her weapon, too frustrated to aim. Ulrich back flipped out of the way and turned to face his foe. Only for Yumi's feet to smash into his chest which was so hard it would have knocked all the air out of his lungs.

Yumi then charged forward to hold him down and hold her weapon at his throat. However Ulrich latched his hands onto Yumi's wrists not leaving her a chance to fire. For what seemed like an eternity they grappled with Yumi and Ulrich pushing all of their strength to push each other into submission.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich kicked into the air with Yumi still holding on and used both of his feet to kick her in the chest and send her flying. She landed and her figure pulsed with dark telekinesis as she sent shards of ice flying at Ulrich. The boy held his look of determination as he dodged and Yumi charged at him. He back flipped but while he was in mid air he swung his feet which managed to kick Yumi hard in the chest.

Yumi doubled over, more out of instinct instead of pain. Ulrich was then on top of her and brought his fist down on her head. She was face first in the ice as she tried to regain her senses. Desperately she reached out and grabbed Ulrich's ankle and yanked as hard as she could.

Ulrich landed hard on his side and then looked to find Yumi pin him down. She looked down and smiled at him. Her knees were on his shoulders which kept his arms pinned and she held his Disk Launchers at his head. He was at her mercy now.

She looked down at his face. She could not help but think it was familiar. It caused a whole surge of feelings to erupt in her. Her smirk vanished into a blank unreadable expression.

Her hand slowly came towards Ulrich's face. Her eyes were locked onto his as her hand came slowly to rest on his cheek. Yumi's figure began to relax as her hand slowly caressed Ulrich's cheek. It was gentle against him and he looked up in awe.

Wasn't Yumi a puppet of Xana now?

Is there still a part in her that still belonged to the real Yumi?

Yumi's face changed from black to curiosity. In the back of her mind she heard the voice of her master.

**"Excellent work, Yumi. Now finish him."**

She should have fired and depleted the last of his live points. With one hit and he would be deleted. Out of her master's way.

_"Don't do it!"_

Another voice inside her. She pulled her face down close to his and he saw a slight hint of sadness inside. A warm feeling came over both of their chests. That was when he vanished.

Yumi's eyes widened.

**"He logged out just before you could finish him. I hoped it would have been too late. It's too late anyway so now come back Yumi."**

Yumi stood up and a Manta came out for her. She flew back into the Digital Sea to her master's sector still tying to shake the feeling she had.

* * *

"So that was Yumi?" asked Ulrich,

"Yes. It looks like Xana saved her when she fell into the Digital Sea. My guess is he repressed her memories and upgraded her Lyoko form." said Jeremy.

"So what do we?" asked Odd.

"We fight. We will save her and Yumi and then we will defeat Xana once and for all." said Ulrich,

"Yeah!" shouted Hiroki.

He looked down at the boy.

"We'll save her, Hiroki. Just like she saved me. I promise." said Ulrich.

Hiroki smiled at him. They all held hands as they knew they would save their friends.


	42. Chapter 42

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Everyone sat in Jeremy's room. 

"So Xana upgraded Yumi. What weapons did she have?" asked Jeremy,

"They looked like crossbows on her forearms. They seemed to reload after each one is fired." said Ulrich.

"She seems unbeatable. She nearly creamed you in that fight." said Sissy,

"She may be good but not even Yumi is undebatable. If she was than I would not have been able to survive." said Ulrich.

"Besides we all know how Yumi fights." said Odd,

"But if Xana's in control can't he change her?" asked Sissy.

"Not really. From what Ulrich said Xana doesn't have the same kind of control he has on William and Ulrich's body. From it sounds like Xana erased her memory of us so she would be more than willing to fight us." said Jeremy,

"That's for sure. The Yumi we know would never attack us." said Aelita.

"I wonder where she is now." said Hiroki, in a gloomy tone.

* * *

Yumi waited in the same Replica she was brought in. She looked at the tower and sighed. It looked like she was waiting for someone. Just then she sensed a presence. She looked behind her to see Xana and William walking up to her. 

**"You did well on your first trial. What do you think of the warrior you fought?"**

"Weak. He didn't bother to try directly attacking me. He may have been formidable but he will not last long." said Yumi.

Xana grinned.

**"Good and remember that failure is not tolerated."**

"I understand, Master Xana. He will be the first to go." said Yumi.

* * *

Ulrich sat in his science class with Odd, Jeremy, Aelita, and Sissy. So far they avoided suspicion with a clone of Yumi. One that was much more intelligent than the William clone. They had to at least make an effort with Yumi since she was a day student. 

Ulrich was distracted when he noticed a note tossed under the desk below. He picked it up and opened it. It was Jeremy's handwriting and it said two words.

SOS

XANA

Ulrich quickly had an excuse.

"Mrs. Hertz, Odd doesn't feel very well, can I take him to the infirmary?" asked Ulrich.

Before Odd could blow their cover he received a kick from Ulrich's feet under the table which made him groan.

"Yes, yes, take him." said the teacher.

Ulrich and Odd walked in the hallway and waited for Aelita, Sissy, and Jeremy. While waiting Ulrich dialed Hiroki and told him that Xana was at it again. Once they all joined they headed out from the school and hurried into the forest. They disappeared into the tunnel as they headed for the factory.

* * *

Ulrich had logged onto Lyoko and landed in the Mountain Sector. 

_"Transfer Odd." _

_"Transfer Hiroki." _

_"Transfer Aelita." _

_"Scanner Odd."_

_"Scanner Hiroki."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Virtualization."_

The trio landed behind Ulrich as they waited for Sissy. She joined them a few seconds and they took west towards the tower.

"So, Jeremy any idea what Xana's planning this time?" asked Ulrich.

_"Nothing yet. I'm already news reports for anything that looks like a Xana attack but nothing so far."_

* * *

Jeremy typed away when he heard a banging. He looked to see the clone of Yumi with its pupils replaced by the Eye of Xana. 

"I just found out the attack. Xana's taken over the Yumi clone." said Jeremy.

* * *

Ulrich and the others slightly faltered at the news. 

"Hurry!" said Ulrich.

With that said the group took off.

"Ulrich Stern!" shouted a voice.

That caused the group to stop as they recognized the voice. They slowly turned to face the wonderful and frighteningly familiar figure.

"Yumi!" gasped Hiroki.

Yumi showed no recognition of her brother as she stared at the brown haired samurai.

"I believe we have a rematch, Ulrich." said Yumi.

She raised her arms and prepared her disk launchers. Ulrich quickly drew his swords and prepared to fight. Yumi aimed her disk launchers on Ulrich.

"If you think you can win you are gravely mistaking." said Yumi,

"We'll see about that. Super Flash!" said Ulrich.

He launched himself at Yumi and swung his sword back. With careful aim he swung it at his opponent. Yumi dodged the attack by leaping into the air firing a stream of disk blades down at Ulrich. The samurai quickly moved out of the way however one managed to hit his leg.

Ulrich stumbled back as Yumi then jumped forward and kicked with both of her of legs. Ulrich however managed to swing his sword and caught Yumi in the stomach. Yumi was sent flying to the ground and landed on her back. She rolled out of the way as Odd fired several rounds of Laser Arrows.

She looked up and noticed Odd was helping Ulrich while Sissy, Hiroki, and Aelita ran for the tower. Odd aimed his arrows but Yumi only glared at him.

-Devirtualize yourself!-

Odd suddenly aimed at himself and fired arrow after arrow until he devirtualized himself._

* * *

_

_"Guys you have three Bloks on your tail!"_

Sissy pulled out her staff as the first Blok came into view and with a yell she leapt at the Blok and slammed her staff into the Eye. It gave shudder before exploding. However a second Blok appeared and fired rapidly on her.

"Energy Field!"

A pink orb slammed into the monster and destroyed it. The tower was in sight but three more Bloks came into view.

* * *

Yumi fired her disk launcher but Ulrich was faster and used his sword to knock the arm aside and the shot was sent into the Digital Sea. Yumi growled frustrated at her lost shot and punched Ulrich in the jaw. 

"Hold still!" shouted Yumi with half her voice mixed with Xana's.

She held up her disk launcher but never fired. Ulrich looked on with confusion as Yumi lowered her disk launchers. Her eyes never left Ulrich as she lowered it. She was breathing hard and it looked like she was straining against something.

The Eye of Xana on Yumi's back started to glow bright red. Yumi growled as she raised her weapons but she did not fire on Ulrich. Her disk flew past his head and he spun around to see William behind him. It looked like William was trying to sneak up on Ulrich while he was distracted.

Ulrich looked back at Yumi with eyes full of confusion as Yumi continued to stare at him.

"Yumi? Is it you?" asked Ulrich.

He stepped forward to reach out for her and Yumi stood still as she stared at the outstretched hand. She looked up and her eyes widened.

"Look out!" she shouted in her own voice.

Ulrich looked back to see the Black Manta charge its laser and hit him in the chest. He slid back and looked to see he was near the edge. A shadow fell over him as William pointed his sword at Ulrich's chest. As William's sword fell a black disk shaped object flew through the air and cut through him.

Ulrich looked to see Yumi firing and she successfully took down William and destroyed the Black Manta. She turned around to see the tower had changed from red back to green. She growled and looked back at Ulrich.

"You may have survived today but next time I will take you down." said Yumi.

She jumped over the edge and into the Digital Sea.


	43. Chapter 43

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Ulrich logged back onto Lyoko for the night as he could get any sleep while living with the others in specter form. He only stayed during the day and then logged back onto Lyoko at night. Right now he doing his usual training routine in the Mountain Sector to keep himself prepared and ready if Xana decided to pull anything. Personally Ulrich favored the Forest Sector out of all the other sectors but sometimes he enjoyed the Desert Sector cause it was wider and easier to battle monsters. 

However the Mountain Sector's rough terrain was the perfect area for training. His body moved fast and his figure was like a blur to the human eye if anyone was watching. However his mind was concentrated only one thing-Yumi.

* * *

Yumi sat on the dark ground of the Volcano Sector. Her thoughts wandered back to the last two battles. As soon as she got back she was ordered by Xana to enter a tower so he could do a scan on her. Whatever Xana was searching for he did not tell her. 

During the battle Xana had ordered Yumi to attack Ulrich to stop him when suddenly she found she couldn't. As if it wasn't enough she went and saved the boy's life. It just didn't make any sense. Why would she save the life of one of her master's enemies?

She softly growled as next time she would make sure her master's enemies would fall.

* * *

Next morning Ulrich logged out of Lyoko and appeared in a cloud of black smoke before morphing into his human form. Odd jumped as he did this. 

"You know no matter how many times I see I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it." said Odd,

"Well it's either or try coping with in the same room at night." said Ulrich.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Odd.

A few years ago Odd found out that Ulrich usually slept with ear plugs. Ulrich did say that he'd tell him why one of these days but never got around to it.

* * *

"Everyone, I think I may know how to fee Yumi from Xana's control. The answer to freeing Yumi is in the Volcano Sector." said Jeremy, 

"So we have to take the Skid all the way to Volcano Sector where we will possibly face wave after wave of enemy monsters, Xana, William, so we can help save Ulrich's possessed girlfriend?" asked Odd.

Hiroki snickered as Ulrich blushed heavily.

"That's pretty much it, Odd." said Jeremy,

"Well than what are we waiting for?" asked Odd, throwing his fists into the air.

* * *

Later 

The Skidbladnir flew out of the Digital Sea and entered the Volcano Sector. Nothing had changed since the Lyoko Warrior's last trip to Xana's sector. They jumped out of the Skid and looked around.

"Any sign of enemies, Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

_"Nothing yet. It looks like Xana wasn't expecting us."_

"That's sad. You should know Jeremy has no control here." said a voice.

A disk flew and slammed into Odd which knocked off his feet and landed on the ground hard. Everyone turned to face the source of the disk.

"Yumi." said Ulrich, drawing his swords.

"I'm so glad you're all happy to see me." said Yumi.

She stood on top of a Crab with two more Crabs behind her.

_"Guys, what's going on? Why did Odd suddenly lose life points?"_

"We've found Yumi." said Aelita.

Yumi smirked at the pink haired.

"What's the matter? I thought you would be happy to see me." said Yumi.

She grinned when she didn't get a response.

"I'll just have to greet since you won't say hello like a polite person."

On her silent command the Crabs charged their batteries and fired. The group jumped out of the line of fire. Yumi jumped off her Crab and preformed a mid-flip as she landed in front of the Skid which was the only way out of the Volcano Sector.

"Can't have you running away now can we?" asked Yumi, shaking her head.

Five Hornets and two Megatanks appeared around the Skid and kept a close eye on the Lyoko Warriors.

"You don't want to do this, Yumi." said Ulrich,

"Oh, but I think I do. You see in our last two fights for some reason I couldn't attack you. I don't know why but I couldn't. So now you're going to fight me here and now so I can find out why.

No one is going to interfere." said Yumi.

A large group composed of Kankrelats and Bloks started to make their towards the other Lyoko Warriors. The others were now surrounded. With the others occupied Yumi launched a disk and then herself at the samurai. Ulrich was distracted as he blocked the disk and was slammed by Yumi's tackle.

It was then an all out fight. Aelita tried to break up the fight but she was stopped by a hail of laser of fire that hit the ground in front of her. As if it wasn't bad enough William appeared out of a puff of black smoke and held out his sword. Yumi landed a hard uppercut which Ulrich countered by a punch.

The force of the punch managed to knock Yumi off Ulrich who then managed to get a few hits before Yumi punched him in the gut which had him double over. Yumi brought her knee up and slammed it onto Ulrich's jaw which knocked the boy off his feet. Yumi quickly stepped back and fired her disk launcher but once again she hesitated. Ulrich took advantage of her hesitation and used his sword to knock Yumi's weapon aside.

With his second sword he slashed it across Yumi's chest which sent her flying back. Yumi used momentum to roll into a crotch and fired a few rounds of disks. Ulrich was hit by the first one but managed to block the second one. The fight began to move across the sector as both Ulrich and Yumi used their speed to attack each other.

Yumi fired disk after disk and Ulrich kept blocking while trying to get close enough to slash his opponent.

"Thunder Blade!"

Ulrich swung his swords and released a blue wave of energy. Yumi ducked but she was distracted enough for Ulrich to jump over her and swing his blades down. Yumi rolled out of the attack and raised her arms again when she hesitated again.

"Why can't I attack you?!" she shouted.

To her surprise Ulrich lowered his swords.

"That's because we're friends." said Ulrich,

"No, we aren't! I don't know you! I would never associate with someone like you who is against Xana!" shouted Yumi.

She noticed Ulrich had a hurt look but ignored it.

"You're wrong, Yumi. You and I have fought against Xana for three years. You hate him just as much as we do." said Ulrich,

"Why would I hate Xana?" asked Yumi.

"Because he has tried to kill you and me for three years. This isn't you, Yumi, you're under Xana's control!" said Ulrich.

The monsters suddenly their eyes to Ulrich and fired.

"Ulrich!" shouted Hiroki.

Ulrich looked and jumped out of the barrage of lasers. William swung his blade before Aelita could move and devirtualized her. Odd, Sissy, and Hiroki moved to attack but the monsters opened fire on them. They were outnumbered and force back.

Yumi glared at Ulrich.

"I will not fall for your tricks. Now I will destroy you." said Yumi.

She raised her disk launchers to fire but she growled when she found herself hesitated. Ulrich could see the conflict in Yumi's eyes.

_"Don't do it! You know who you are!"_

Yumi gritted her teeth as her head suddenly started to have a pounding headache.

**"Well, well, well, are having a little headache, Yumi?"**

Yumi relaxed when Xana appeared behind her.

"Let her go, Xana!" shouted Ulrich.

Ulrich glared at the digital fiend that was controlling his body.

**"Finish him!"**

"You can fight this, Yumi! Fighting Xana is what we have been doing together for the last three years along with our friends! You saved me remember?" said Ulrich.

Yumi held her head as the pain increased ten-fold. Ulrich ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Fight his control, Yumi." said Ulrich.

" . . . . . . Ulrich?" whispered a voice.

She threw her arms around him and kissed him hard. Ulrich was completely caught off guard by this. Xana roared with rage as he lost control of his puppet. Yumi looked up and smiled at Ulrich.

"You know you didn't have to do that? You just could have said you were back." said Ulrich, looking down.

Yumi smirked and ran her hand through his hair.

"And miss all the drama? Never." said Yumi.

She was back. Xana growled and pulled out his sword.

**"Lightning . . . GAH!"**

Xana was cut off as Yumi spun around and fired several disks. Ulrich ran at him and slashed at him. Xana was suddenly on the defense as Ulrich and Yumi both pushed him back. They worked together perfectly.

They left no openings to be exploited. Xana was not a given a chance to attack. He suddenly found himself against a wall.

"It's over, Xana." said Ulrich.

**"It's far from over."**

Xana vanished in a flash of red light as did his minions. Everybody ran up to the Lyoko Warriors. Hiroki hugged Yumi's waist hard and Yumi held him close. They had just recovered their friend from their enemy.


	44. Chapter 44

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

"Laser Arrow!" shouted Odd. 

The arrow managed to hit the Eye on the Crab's shell. The field was down to just a few monsters and Odd, Aelita, and Ulrich were running low on life points.

"Come on! Let's hurry!" shouted Odd.

"Impact!" shouted Ulrich, while stabbing one of the Bloks.

The others were close to the tower when a hidden Crab appeared and shot Odd with a battery of lasers. He was devirtualized and only Ulrich and Aelita were left.

"Triplicate!" shouted Ulrich.

He split into three clones and attacked. The Crab was taken down in a few seconds and the path to the tower was cleared. Or so they thought. Three more Crabs came out of hiding in front of the tower and charged their lasers.

One of the Crabs charged its laser and managed to hit Ulrich in the arm.

"That's it! I'll lure them away. You get to the tower." said Ulrich.

Ulrich charged and sliced off one the legs of the Crab that shot him. As it fell he plunged the sword into the Eye and it exploded. The other two monsters immediately started following and shooting him. Aelita ran towards the tower and entered it.

In a matter of moments the tower was deactivated.

* * *

"There has definitely been a large amount of Xana activity for the last week." said Jeremy, 

"Tell us about it. The monsters just kept coming and coming. I'm not sure I ever remember Xana trying this hard." said Aelita.

"So what he's up to now?" asked Sissy,

"It's hard to say since you can never really tell with Xana." said Jeremy.

"This could be just a plot to break us down. This is like Xana's seventh attack in a week." said Ulrich,

"And so far none of the attacks seemed to have a specefic target." said Yumi.

"All we do now and wait and see for what Xana has in store for us this time." said Jeremy.

"Well, it's getting late. Hiroki and I need to get back to our parents before they find out." said Yumi.

Hiroki nodded and they headed for the elevator. Ulrich however looked like he wanted to ask Yumi a question.

"Hey, Yumi. Could I speak to you for a second before you leave?" asked Ulrich,

"Sure." said Yumi.

They walked up to the factory lobby and made sure no one was watching.

"So what do you want to talk about?" asked Yumi,

"It's about what happened last week at the Volcano Sector. And about what has been happening ever since I came back." said Ulrich.

Yumi looked at him questionably.

"When the school year started again you said we were better off being friends and when I came back well it seems like that discussion never took place." said Ulrich.

Yumi's widened as she suddenly looked away.

"You have pretty much been acting like you want us to get together when you're the one who said we shouldn't be together." said Ulrich,

Yumi was starting to look down. That was right. She was the one who said that they should stay friends. She was the one who simply said they should not be together.

She thought she made up her mind but it seems like that descision is coming back to bite her.

"I . . . Know. There was too much to deal with. William. Sissy.

Our grades. Xana. I know it hurt you but I felt that I was doing the right thing. William was flirting with me, Sissy was flirting with you, and it started to look like we were losing the fight with Xana.

When Xana destroyed Lyoko with your body my heart felt like it dropped into the Digital Sea. Then when Xana came back acting like you I felt like I wanted to take it all back. To try to do what we both wanted. But when Xana revealed the truth my heart felt like it shattered like glass." said Yumi,

"I knew the risks, Yumi. You have any idea I felt after all the times you nearly fell into the Digital Sea. After all the times Xana tried to get rid of you." said Ulrich.

"That's why I broke it off!" said Yumi.

That caught Ulrich off guard.

"Xana almost killed you not once but twice. He took your body and then tried to delete your mind and then he blew up the factory and tricked us into thinking you died." said Yumi,

"That doesn't explain why you have been wanting to try and get back together. You broke it off, you said it, not me." said Ulrich.

"Ulrich, you are such an idiot." said Yumi,

"For what?! For asking a few questions? You're the one whose not acting normal." said Ulrich.

"If you can't figure it out now then you never will." said Yumi.

"Are all girls like this or is just that time? What do you want from me? Did you want me to stop trying or did you want me keep on trying? Make up your mind." said Ulrich,

"I never asked anything from you." said Yumi.

"I can understand how hard it was during the fight against Xana but what do Sissy and William have to do with this? Sure, they liked us but didn't think they would have stopped if we had just decided to try." said Ulrich.

"There's a difference between you and William." said Yumi,

"Yeah? Like what? He's in the same class as you? He's good looking? He posted love letters all over his last school." said Ulrich.

"No matter how many times I rejected him he never quit. When I called it off with you, Ulrich, you just gave up. You stopped in the middle of the race not even coming close to the finish line." said Yumi,

"Did you want me to fight for you? Is that what you were trying to get me to do?" asked Ulrich.

"As long as we are Lyoko Warriors and have to protect the world from Xana we should stay just friends. That's why I said what I said." said Yumi,

"You sure have not been acting like that when I returned." said Ulrich.

Yumi looked down.

"I . . . Know." she muttered.

It was times like this that made her think back. How Xana destroyed Lyoko and took Ulrich's body. How he deceived them when he returned with Ulrich's body under his control. How Franz Hopper brought Ulrich back and turned the tide of the fight.

"I knew one day we might have to sacrifice ourselves in order to stop Xana. If we got together and one of us died then other one would have been broken. Too distracted to continue fighting." said Yumi,

"Tell that to Jeremy and Aelita. Everyone knows how they feel, including Xana. Or have you forgotten all the times when Xana went after them." said Ulrich.

"They can handle themselves." said Yumi,

"And we can't?" asked Ulrich.

"You just don't understand!" said Yumi,

"I'm trying to, Yumi, but you're not making it easy for me." said Ulrich.

"It's better if you stop trying to understand." said Yumi.

She turned and ran out of the factory. Ulrich was shocked as she ran. When she was out of hearing range she looked back.

"I love you too much to get hurt, Ulrich."

* * *

Little did they know that in the Volcano Sector a tower started to glow red.

* * *

Yumi walked up to her house when she saw a ploice car. She quickly ran into the house and found her parents and her brother in the living room with a police officer. 

"Mom? Dad? What's going on?" asked Yumi.

Her parents looked at her with tear filled faces. The police officer stood up.

"Miss Yumi Ishiyama you are under arrest." said the officer.


	45. Chapter 45

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

It was cold. 

Yumi sat in her cell and simply stared at the wall. It was all she had left to do. She pounded on the door for two hours and shouted herself into exhaustion. None of it paid off.

Her throat was sore from all the shouting. Her clothes were dirty and her face was stained with tears. In all of this madness no one bothered to answer the one question she had on her mind. Why?

What was she accused of?

What was it that had the police wait at her house and arrest her? She may not have been the perfect student since half her time was dedicated to fighting Xana on Lyoko. Black was her favorite color but she was no delinquent. Her friends knew her, her teachers knew her, and so did her family.

So what has she been accused of?

That was when the cell door opened. She stood from the cheap cot she had spent the lest few hours on. Her hands were still cuffed so she had to use her elbows to sit up. The guard who escorted her into the cell entered and stood aside.

That was when Ulrich entered.

"Ulrich! What are you doing here?" asked Yumi.

The guard stepped back and closed the door. Ulrich waited until the door was closed.

"I should be asking you the same question. What happened?" asked Ulrich,

"I got home after our talk at the factory when a police officer told me I was under arrest. No one is telling me what's going on." said Yumi.

"I asked them. They said you were spotted at the City Bank when it exploded. Luckily no one was injured but the camera caught you on tape placing explosives." said Ulrich,

"That's impossible! I was nowhere near the bank." said Yumi.

"Calm down, Yumi. Freaking out is not going to help." said Ulrich,

"Than what am I supposed to do! Sit here and wait like a good girl until they throw me in jail?!" shouted Yumi.

"No! Jeremy hacked into the footage and it the same time we left the factory. Since we know you left for home there is one possibility." said Ulrich,

"Xana." said Yumi, with anger.

"Jeremy suspects it was a polymorph that blew up the bank. Right now he's running the super scan to find the activated tower." said Ulrich,

"How do we know Xana hasn't already deactivated the tower? This is starting to make sense now. Xana isn't trying to get rid of us but separate us. He frames me for a crime I did not commit I get thrown into the slammer so that would be one less Lyoko Warrior for him to deal with." said Yumi.

"Jeremy already came to that conclusion but thinks Xana might not have deactivated the tower yet." said Ulrich,

"Why not?" asked Yumi.

"We could do a Return to the Past so that you would not have been accused. The only stopping us is that we can't use the Time Return program as long as there is an activated tower." said Ulrich,

"So Xana is making sure it'll be too late to stop the judge throwing the book at me?" asked Yumi.

"As long as we hurry we should be able to fix this but Jeremy thinks there might be an ulterior motive to Xana's plot." said Ulrich,

"Time's almost up, Stern!" said the guard outside.

Ulrich looked and glared at the door. He turned back to Yumi.

"We'll fix this, Yumi. I promise." said Ulrich.

Yumi ran up and into Ulrich's arms. She buried her face into his shoulder.

"Don't go." she silently begged.

Ulrich hated to see her like this.

* * *

"Where is it?! There's no activated tower on Lyoko?! If that was a polymorph than a tower would have been activated!" said Jeremy, banging on the computer. 

"Calm down, Jeremy." said Aelita,

"I'm trying to be calm, Aelita, but if we can't find the activated tower than Yumi goes to jail." said Jeremy.

"Than we better think of how we can find the tower." said Odd,

"Wait a minute! That's it! I know why there is no activated tower on Lyoko!" said Jeremy.

"That was fast." said Odd.

"The reason why there is no activated tower on Lyoko is because Xana is not using Lyoko's towers. He must be using a tower on one of his Replicas and that's why the super scan couldn't detect the tower." said Jeremy,

"Well how do we find which Replica he used?" asked Sissy.

"This. Launching Super Scan!" said Jeremy.

The screen showed the super scan doing the scan it always did but this time it showed a red tower.

"I did have a program that could scan the Internet for any sign of Xana. All I had to do was use that program and there you have it." said Jeremy,

"So let's call Ulrich so we can save my sister!" shouted Hiroki, happily.

* * *

_"Transfer Odd."_

_"Transfer Aelita."_

_"Transfer Sissy."_

_"Scanner Odd."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Scanner Sissy."_

_"Virtualization."_

All three of them landed in circular arena of Sector 5. It was just a few minutes later when Jeremy virtaulized Hiroki and Ulrich logged in. They ran through the open entrance and onto the elevator platform. The elevator slid down from the ceiling and they walked onto it.

It took them up to the hangar where they could see the Skid docked where it should be.

"So, Jeremy, where's the activated tower?" asked Odd.

_"It's in the Volcano Sector, Odd. So you all need to be careful. Xana's force are stronger there."_

"We know the risks but we have to hurry." said Ulrich.

They got off the elevator and walked onto the six energy circles.

_"Energize!"_

In flash all five Lyoko Warriors appeared in their pods on the Skid.

"Everyone, get ready for lift off. Releasing supports!" said Aelita.

The five support braces retract away from the Skid. The two wings moved out and the engines rotated so they were aiming downwards.

"Standing by, Jeremy." said Aelita.

_"Everything is set."_

"Roger. Liftoff!" said Aelita.

The Skid rose out of the hangar and headed over to a data stream that faded. Flying into the hole it came out in the bright sun of the Desert Sector.

"Shields activated. Sonar activated. Stabilizers, on line and check. Commencing dive!" said Aelita.

The Skid dropped into the sea like a rock.

* * *

For most of the trip through the World Wide Network it was quiet. That was when the calm blue colored ocean was now blood red. 

"I've got a bad feeling about this." said Ulrich.

_"Three enemies coming in."_

"Kongres?" asked Aelita.

_"I can't seem to identify them. You should be able to see. They're almost on top of you."_

That was when they heard a familiar screech. They looked up to . . .

"Flying Mantas?" asked Sissy,

"I didn't know they could swim in the Digital Sea." said Hiroki.

"Xana must have modified them to able to travel in the sea." said Aelita,

"It doesn't matter how Xana got them here what matter is how do get rid of them." said Ulrich.

"Agreed." said Aelita.

She quickly preformed a barrel and soon enough the Skid was on the run from lasers released by the Mantas.

"Nav Skids away!" said Aelita.

The magnetic couplings that attached the smaller pods to the Skids turned off and the Lyoko Warriors quickly flew back and fired. One Manta was on Ulrich's tail firing lasers. However Ulrich pushed down on the brakes that caused his sub to completely stop and the Manta flew over him.

"Target locked!" said Ulrich.

He fired several rounds of torpedoes that hit its target. It was all out dogfight but soon enough the other two Mantas were destroyed and the sea turned back to its blue Xana-free state. The pods docked back with the Skid and flew towards the sphere that contained the Volcano Sector. Aelita punched in the password and the door opened.

Soon enough the Skid emerged from the orange tainted sea and flew towards a tower and docked with it.

_"The tower is not far from you."_

Everyone appeared outside of the Skid and proceeded through the Volcano Sector.

"Any monsters?" asked Hiroki.

_"Nothing yet. Be careful everyone."_

* * *

"An excellent warning. But a trifle yet." said a voice. 

Jeremy turned around to see Yumi. No . . . Not Yumi. The real Yumi didn't Eyes of Xana for pupils. She grabbed him and threw him into the wall.

* * *

"Jeremy?" asked Aelita. 

**"He's a little busy right now Aelita."**

Everyone turned a complete 180 to see Xana in front of three Megatanks, three Crabs, and three Tarantulas.

**"I so love it when a plan comes together. I was just hoping to frame the geisha warrior but to find all of you here. Delicious."**

With that said the monsters unleashed a fire storm of lasers that forced the Lyoko Warriors to hide behind some rocks. Some Dark Kankrelats came out and charged their lasers. It looked like Xana had them cornered.

"Laser Arrow!"

"Energy Field!"

"Fire Ball!"

Odd, Hiroki, and Aelita fired several rounds and then ducked for cover as the mob of monsters kept firing.

"We need to get to the tower!" said Ulrich,

"You guys go. We'll handle Xana's welcoming party." said Odd.

He jumped out and fired several more rounds. Xana ducked as a Laser Arrow flew over his head. The Megatanks fired their lasers which destroyed the boulders the Warriors were using as cover. Everyone took off to find more cover.

Xana laughed as he and his monsters followed.

* * *

The Yumi clone successfully knocked Jeremy out and sat at the computer. Typing hard and fast she brought up the Lyoko Forms. 

"Materialization, Aelita."

* * *

Everyone stopped when they saw Aelita vanish. 

"Aelita!" shouted Odd.

**"One of the good things about having a polymorphic clone is that it doesn't need to learn how to work a complicarted super computer. Once this is over poor Yumi will have to spend her life in prison. I'm going to enjoy that a lot."**

Xana allowed a smile to come across his face. Ulrich looked back and sent a glare full of murderous intent that seemed to please Xana even more.

**"Make sure they don't get to the tower but leave Ulrich to me."**

The monsters bowed and headed towards the tower.

**"I will finally repay Ulrich for the pain I suffered at his hands when he returned."**

* * *

Everyone looked behind them to see the large group of monsters pursuing them. They charged their lasers and fired on them. The lasers fell around them like a shower as they avoided the constant barrage. 

Odd and Hiroki fired a few shots behind them to thin out the enemy numbers. However it seemed Xana was not about to give them a break. Just as they were almost at the tower Xana sprung out and kicked Ulrich in the stomach. He quickly followed up the kick with an uppercut before Ulrich could recover.

**"Stand still, Ulrich, and I promise your demise will be swift."**

"I've never been one to actually follow orders, Xana." said Ulrich.

Five Flying Mantas appeared out of the sky and flew down on Odd, Hiroki, and Sissy as they tried to assist Ulrich. Odd kept firing streams of Laser Arrows but the Mantas were evasive. Sissy spun her staff in her hands to block the lasers being fired by the air-born monsters. Kankrelats and Bloks slowly started to surround the members and fired on them.

So far it seemed they could do nothing to help Ulrich.

* * *

Both Ulrich and Xana ran at each other and tried to slash each other which locked their swords in the process. They jumped back after a brief struggle and charged at each other again. After a few minutes of slashing and hacking it seemed both fighters were equal since they could not inflict any harm on each other.

* * *

"Materialization, Sissy." said the Yumi clone.

* * *

Sissy suddenly vanished and both Odd and Hiroki were left defensless against a seemingly unending hoard of monsters. Xana smirked as he swung his long blade and knocking one sword out of Ulrich's hand while sending the other into the lava colored Digital Sea. 

**"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's dangerous to play with fire?"**

Ulrich stepped back with a look of defiance. Xana simply held his sword at the samurai's neck.

**"This was almost too easy. In a few seconds you will be alone and then say hello to white hot oblivion."**

"This is not over yet, Xana." said Ulrich.

**"If you still have an ace in the hole you better use while you still have a life point."**

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Triplicate!" shouted Ulrich.

Two clone materialized and began rushing Xana. The corrupted AI dodged each and every punch despite being caught off guard. Ulrich dove for his last katana while Xana caught a clone's punch and stabbed it. With a quick kick he knocked the last clone into the Digital Sea. He turned to face Ulrich when he felt something sharp enter him.

He looked behind him to see Ulrich with his sword piercing Xana's back.

**"Next time, you won't be so lucky."**

Xana exploded into a puff of black and red smoke before vanishing.

* * *

Sissy, Aelita, and Jeremy were on the ground while the Yumi clone chuckled with purple electricity flashing in her hands.

* * *

Ulrich ran into the tower and flew to the upper platform.

* * *

The clone charged up its energy for the final blow.

* * *

Ulrich placed his hand on the panel. 

ULRICH

* * *

The fist began to fall onto the three helpless humans.

* * *

CODE: LYOKO 

"Tower Deactivated."

* * *

_"Return to the Past now!"_


	46. Chapter 46

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

It was late. Most of the students were asleep or getting ready to go to sleep. However sleep was something foreign to Jeremy ever since the discovery of the digital world known as Lyoko. 

"Come on . . . Come on." muttered the young prodigy.

The monitor showed maps, graphics, and endless streams of codes. A sudden green plus sign appeared on the monitor and there was a beeping sound.

"Yes! I did it! I did it!" said Jeremy as he collapsed face first onto his desk and let out a loud snore.

Needless to say he was tired and needed a good night sleep.

* * *

Jeremy walked into the cafe with a happy smile across his face as he picked up his tray for breakfast and sat over the usual table any member of the Lyoko Gang sat at. 

"Hey, Jeremy you seem a little happy." said Aelita,

"Yeah, what's up?" asked Odd.

"What's up, Odd, is that I finally completed the program to free William!" said Jeremy.

Everyone directed their eyes at Jeremy as he smiled.

"Really, that's great!" said Sissy,

"One less problem to deal with." said Hiroki.

"The trick was combining the programs we collected from the Volcano Sector with the same program Franz Hopper gave Ulrich that allowed him purify Aelita when she was under Xana's control." said Jeremy,

"So what now?" asked Yumi.

"We need to lure William out in the opening so that means we have to get Xana's attention." said Jeremy,

"That shouldn't be a problem." said Ulrich.

"It will be up to you, Ulrich. I placed the program into your swords so you need to engage William." said Jeremy,

"That shouldn't be a problem at all." said Ulrich.

"We need to make sure Xana is occupied while Ulrich works on purifying William's character." said Jeremy,

"Question; how do we get Xana's attention?" asked Odd.

"Well, we could take the Skid to the Volcano Sector or we could simply activate a tower." said Jeremy,

"I don't think activating a tower would be a good idea. Xana hates it when we play with his toys." said Yumi.

"Agreed. It's much more simple if we decide to take a trip to the Volcano Sector." said Aelita,

"Okay. We're going to the Volcano Sector on a rescue mission." said Jeremy.

* * *

The team had arrived at the factory. Jeremy virtualized them into Sector 5 and soon enough they were cruising through the Digital Sea heading towards Xana's sector. The Skid came out of the orange tainted sea and docked with a tower. The Lyoko Warriors were now walking through the volcano filled sector waiting for their target. 

"Maybe Xana's not home?" asked Odd,

"Now's not the time, Odd." said Yumi.

She looked at her disk launchers and armed them. When Xana lost control of her she was able to keep the weapons and abilities she was given so she could fight Xana with even more power. She was brought out of her thoughts when a pair of Crabs appeared in front of them. A blast of black smoke appeared out nowhere and William appeared with his oversized sword.

A sound is heard and the gang turns around to see Xana who is flanked by another pair of Crabs.

**"Haven't you heard? It's against the rules to be trespassing on someone's property."**

"You guys deal with Xana and the Crabs and I'll take care of William." said Ulrich,

"Got it." said Yumi.

"Roger." said Odd,

"Understood." said Aelita.

"Let's do it." said Hiroki,

"On it." said Sissy.

She sprung into action and leapt into the air with her staff. Xana side stepped the attack and moved his hand over his right shoulder. In a flash of red lightning appeared his long red sword. The Crabs charged their lasers and the others got ready.

Ulrich got ready to fight as William held his sword in fighting position. If there was wind that it would have blown past them as they stared each other down. Finally lifting one leg up and down Ulrich charged William first. Hiroki took out his flaming sword jumped over a Crab and slashed at the Eye.

Yumi fired her disks that hit a Crab and devirtualized it. Sissy clashed her staff with Xana's sword and the demonic AI grabbed her leg and threw her into a boulder. Odd fired his arrows but Xana blocked with his sword.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

His sword released a stream of lightning that zapped Odd hard. Odd weakly fell down with his virtual form still parking from the attack. William ran at Ulrich while screaming at the top of his lungs. Ulrich and William clashed their weapons together which created an ear shattering sonic boom.

Ulrich gave a hard thrust but William spun out of the way and tried to swipe Ulrich's back but luckily the samurai blocked with one sword and knocked the attack back. Aelita who ignored the fight with Xana fired an energy orb William easily dodged the attack with his Super Smoke and quickly appeared behind Aelita. He slashed her down easily. Ulrich jumped in and clashed with William again.

William swiped at Ulrich who jumped over the attack and tried to swipe William. However he blocked the attack with his sword. Ulrich brought his swords and clashed with William again. Both Ulrich and William rapidly clashed at each other with their swords.

Eventually Ulrich hit a boulder and William tried to thrust but Ulrich spun out of the way and kicked him aside. William got back up and spun at Ulrich with incredible speed. He smacked Ulrich in the face and sent him crashing a few yards away. Ulrich charged William again and attacked, but William backflipped over the attack.

William clashed with Ulrich again who jumped over William and kicked him in the back. William used his hands to push up and uppercut Ulrich. The samurai was sent flying back but kicked his legs against a large boulder and charged with both swords in his hands. William jumped out of the way as Ulrich brought his swords down.

William swiped at Ulrich who jumped to the left to dodge the attack. William swiped at Ulrich who blocked with his swords. Ulrich kept blocking William's attacks and continued clashing with him. Ulrich then clashed his swords together with William's sword and pushed him back.

They jumped back and glared at each other. Yumi and Odd attacked with their weapons and Xana fired his Lightning Arc. The two dodged and Sissy and Hiroki slashed at Xana who simply blocked with his sword. Xana then spun and slashed both of them which knocked them off their feet.

"Triplicate!" shouted Ulrich.

He split into three and they all charged at William. One managed to trip William while another grabbed him by the lower leg and threw him into the air. Ulrich used his Super Flash and jumped into the air. He charged at William in the air with a flying kick going down.

"This one's for Yumi!" shouted Ulrich.

He kicked William in the chest and the two of them went crashing into the ground. The impact caused ruble and dust to fly. Ulrich weakly stood up and looked to see William on his hands and knees breathing very hardly. He looked up to see Ulrich approaching him.

He growled and held his sword horizontally to strike but Ulrich's swords slashed through his giant blade and cut it in half. He knocked the remnants of the sword out of William's hand and the defeated warrior stepped back. Ulrich held up his swords as they glowed bright blue as he gripped the handle. With a hard swing he knocked the weakened William into a boulder.

William's clothing disappeared into a cloud of black smoke and left behind the white and black outfit he wore before Xana captured him. Ulrich watched as William was devirtualized. Finally free of Xana's control. Sissy clashed with Xana again but Xana was quicker and knocked Sissy back.

Ulrich suddenly came out of nowhere and kicked Xana, sending him sliding across the ground. He looked up and glared at Ulrich.

"It's over, Xana. William is free so now all that's left is to take my body and then you're finished." said Ulrich.

Xana however smirked.

**"I think not."**

That was when Xana's figure glowed blood red. The entire ground started to shake.

"What's happening?" asked Yumi.

_"Xana's drawing upon energy from his Replicas but . . . It's more than just five or six. It's hundreds of Replicas which means hundreds of supercomputers under Xana's control!"_

**"Congratulations, you finally figured it out. As a reward I'll show you all my latest work and plan."**

That was when it appeared. It was taller than a Lyoko tower. It's body was made of rocks and lava. It's face was insect like with the Eye of Xana on it and its left arm was basically a sword with an elbow.

It's legs were small compared to its arms but the giant did not need to worry about that.

**"I call it the Kolossus. My most powerful monster created by hundreds of supercomputers around the human world. And my answer to all of my problems. Namely you foolish Lyoko Warriors."**

The Lyoko Warriors' eyes were all fixed on the Kolossus as it's feet created earthquakes with each step. Xana took pleasure in seeing their fear.

**"In a few minutes I will be able to release all my monsters into the human world."**

_"Impossible! You need an endless amount of power for that!"_

**"Which I have, Jeremy. By now I have control of every technological device in your world and I am breaking the barriers between both worlds."**

_"But that's impossible!"_

**"I've had a lot of free time. Now to release my monsters. Go my minions! Lead those dogs to their doom!"**


	47. Chapter 47

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Outside the factory people watched in fascination as the planet's atmosphere was covered by a dark haze. The sky started to turn blood red with black clouds. Everyone's eyes turned from fascination to horror as strange mechanical monsters started to materialize around them. Kankrelats, Bloks, Hornets, Crabs, Megatanks, Tarantulas, Creepers, and Flying Mantas started to appear everywhere.

The streets were filled with many people as they ran out of their homes to get away from the monsters that appeared in their houses as well.

* * *

**"Even as we speak the monsters are starting to take over Earth right now. It will be over in a matter of hours. Any hope for defeating me is just an illusion."**

Xana smirked as he looked at the Lyoko Warriors.

"And what if I say that we'll fight you to the end, Xana?" asked Ulrich.

**"It doesn't matter. Nothing you do matters anymore."**

"Wrong. We will stop like we always have, Xana. You will not win." said Aelita,

"It's 'yahoo it's us' time again!" said Odd.

"Get ready to lose, Xana." said Hiroki,

"What he said." said Sissy.

**"Silly little fools. You choose to remain to in denial. A childhood fantasy of believing in anything you want. In the end there is no hope!"**

The Warriors felt like time stopped. So they could see Xana but they felt like something was making them still see him when his voice came from another direction.

**"In the end result you shall lose!"**

They turned only to get startled by Xana who was levitating in mid-air. He smirked at them which showed a frightening sign of evil. Ulrich twirled his swords in his hands as everyone got ready to fight.

_"Everyone! The towers that function as Xana's core have all been activated. All you need to do is shut them down and we'll win!"_

**"Wrong!"**

With that said the Kolossus continued to move as it headed for . . .

"The Skid! That behemoth is headed for the Skid!" shouted Odd,

"We can't let it destroy the Skid!" said Aelita.

"You guys go on and stop that thing! We'll handle Xana." said Yumi,

"All right but you better win, sis!" shouted Hiroki.

With that said Hiroki, Aelita, and Sissy flew off to fight the massive lava golem. Xana smirked as a wave of red energy appeared and the Scyphozoa floated behind him with its tentacles in the air.

"We can beat him!" said Ulrich,

"We just need to pull through!" said Yumi.

"Got it!" said Odd.

**"You think you can defeat me?! Think again!"**

Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi stood ready as they stayed focused on the evil AI. Everything was quiet with the exception of the volcanoes erupting. Xana held his sword on one hand and flew at the heroes. Ulrich his swords up as the digital fiend brought his sword down on him.

Electricity flew out of the impact with a big clang. It had begun. Ulrich quickly stepped to the left and charged at Xana. However Xana effortlessly dodged the attack and kicked him in the jaw.

The kick sent Ulrich into the air and the Scyphozoa grabbed Ulrich's leg and threw into the ground harshly. Odd shot Laser Arrows at him while Yumi fired her disk launcher. Xana smirked at their confidence.

**"Scyphozoa, defend!"**

The Scyphozoa quickly appeared in front of Xana and took the hits. However none of the attacks seemed to have any affect on it. Odd and Yumi gasped in horror as it flew at them and smacked them aside with its tentacles. Ulrich quickly recovered and clashed with Xana.

The samurai put all of his weight into his attack as he pushed his opponent back. Xana who was unfazed by the attack slid his sword under one of Ulrich's and knocked it out of his hand. Xana slashed with Ulrich again which knocked him into the ground. Ulrich looked up to see Xana bringing his sword down quickly dodged by spinning to the side and launched a kick to Xana's hip knocking him aside.

Ulrich quickly grabbed his other sword and gripped both of them in his hands. The trio ran at Xana again who called his Scyphozoa to attack them. It lifted its tentacles and they suddenly were filled with red liquid which was only seen when it was draining data. It then fired the liquid from its tentacles.

They missed Ulrich by an inch and he noticed that it melted a piece of his sleeves leaving only smoke.

"Don't touch that stuff! It's like acid!" shouted Ulrich.

They all nodded and started dodging the attacks. Yumi cast her telepathic powers and used it to make the Scyphozoa shoot acid at Xana. He cried out in pain as his own attack hit him in the chest. The heroes quickly flew to attack Xana while he was stunned but the Scyphozoa's tentacles glowed red while forming a crimson energy wave.

It swiped its tentacles at them which knocked them into ground. Ulrich kicked his feet into the air and pushed himself to stand up. He looked up to see Xana flying at them again and back flipped over a vertical slash. As he hit the ground he launched himself forward and clashed with Xana.

The two struggled to push the other into submission. Ulrich was groaning as Xana smirked at him. Suddenly Odd and Yumi jumped over Ulrich and kicked Xana in the chest. He was sent crashing into the ground.

He got up looking a little annoyed but not worried. Yumi fired a disk which Xana sliced in half. Odd fired several Laser Arrows but the Scyphozoa blocked the attacks. Yumi and Odd continued to attack but the Scyphozoa deployed a blue shield that blocked the attacks.

Xana smirked at their foolishness. His smirk faded when noticed that there was only two. Where's Ulrich? Xana then felt a hand lightly tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see Ulrich standing there with a cocky smile.

"Surprise!"

Ulrich slashed in the back which knocked him into the Scyphozoa sending them flying into the ground. Xana got back up and fired energy disks at the group. Ulrich used his Super Flash, evasively dodging the attacks. Odd rolled behind Xana and fired several Laser Arrows that hit the demonic AI in the back.

He growled in pain from the damage. He spun around and charged at Odd who gulped nervously. Xana slashed the cat like fighter who jumped over the attack. Odd tried to punch him but the Scyphozoa grabbed him and threw him into Ulrich.

Yumi jumped and tried to ram into Xana who simply grabbed her neck. She looked Xana right in the eyes. He smirked and dropped her before spinning his body before giving a horizontal slash that knocked her back. Xana stopped in mid-air.

**"Now to end this little dance! Scyphozoa, destroy!"**

The jelly fish like monster was about to strike Yumi with a hard blow when Ulrich jumped in front of her and took the attack. Ulrich flew back into a boulder and hit the ground hard. He got back up and charged at Xana again when Scyphozoa appeared before him and smacked him aside. It then grabbed him and started to crush him.

**"Lighting Arc!"**

Ulrich gasped as Xana released a stream of red lightning that flew at him. Ulrich tried to escape from getting hit but it was no use. He closed his eyes not wanting to see it end. Suddenly Yumi and Odd quickly rammed into the Scyphozoa which knocked it into the blast.

It screamed in pain from the attack as it dropped Ulrich. Xana stopped the attack and called the monster back. Ulrich jumped into the air and brought his swords down on Xana who blocked with his sword. Ulrich pushed down on the sword which made Xana push harder.

Ulrich quickly slid his swords out of Xana's sword as he brought them over his shoulders and delivered a hard blow to Xana. The corrupted program was sent flying in Odd who gave a hard punch which sent Xana flying into the ground. The three regrouped after the attack.

"Is everyone one all right?" asked Ulrich,

"We're fine." said Yumi, nodding.

That was when they heard Xana laughing.

**"You actually believe you have won? That was just a warm-up!"**

"He was just warming up? I'm outta here!" said Odd,

"Odd we don't have time for you to be a chicken!" said Ulrich.

**"Let us continue so this battle of ours may continue to be a great one. That is unless you don't want to save your world."**

"We're far from done!" shouted Ulrich.

**"Ha! Than come stop me, little man."**

* * *

Sissy groaned as the Kolossus swung its massive sword at her. She couldn't maneuver in time and she was forced to watch as the massive sword slammed into air and sent her back to earth. Hiroki grunted as he climbed up the monster while flew around the monster's head firing her energy orbs which seemed to have no effect. The monster swiped at her with its giant hand which forced her to land on the ground.

Hiroki climbed up made his to the lava giant's face. He prepared to stab it when he was hit by a laser that sent him flying off the monster's shoulder. Sissy jumped back as the Kolossus was now close to the Skid.

"Oh no!" she shouted.

It raised its massive sword and swung with all its might. The impact sent the Skid flying away from the tower as it slid across the ground. The massive nearly crushed half the sub already. It flew over the edge and into the Digital Sea.

She looked to see an explosion.

"Jeremy, the Skid has been destroyed." said Sissy.

_"I know but . . Watch out!"_

She turned to see a massive foot above and then all went white.

* * *

Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi now had fire in their eyes. They were even more determined to defeat Xana.

"We're far from done!" said Ulrich.

The group ran over to the area where they knew Xana was waiting for their arrival. They had to hurry, wasting no time at all. They finally made it. Ulrich saw a small split entrance and ran for it.

He leapt into it falling into a small area. He turned back to see Yumi and Odd approaching the entrance but was shocked to see them knocked back by an invisible barrier.

"Whoa!"

They rolled down the hill from the impact and hit the ground.

"Xana's set a trap! Look out!" shouted Ulrich.

Yumi and Odd could feel the ground starting to shake yet again. Than all of a sudden the Kolossus appeared before Yumi and Odd preparing to destroy them. Letting out a blood curling scream the monster raised its fist and threw it to the ground. The sudden quake sent Yumi and Odd flying back.

The Kolossus slowly scanned the area and found its target. It raised its giant sword and swung down towards Yumi. Odd quickly jumped and pushed Yumi out of the way. Suddenly a huge glowing ball of energy flew out of nowhere and rammed into the Kolossus.

Everyone looked up and gasped. Floating in the air before them was Franz Hopper.

"Franz Hopper, alive? But how?" asked Yumi,

"Xana's not the only who is cunning, Yumi. I am pleased to see all of you again. But we must hurry. Xana will not allow us to win without a fight." said the white orb.

That was when several blasts came out from behind Yumi and Odd and hit the orb. They looked behind themselves. They saw what must have been hundreds, thousands of monsters were everywhere. Odd and Yumi dropped their jaws in astonishment.

With the Kolossus in front of them and the massive hoard of monsters everywhere they were surrounded. And worse they helped Xana force Franz Hopper out of hiding. Ulrich looked on in horror. There was nothing he could do to help.

**"So my predictions was correct. I knew it was too easy to get rid of the old man that happened to be my creator."**

Ulrich turned around to see Xana floating down to him.

"Xana!" shouted Ulrich.

**"You and your friends are truly spectacular to have come this far. However like all good things this must unfortunately come to an end."**

Ulrich lightly chuckled.

"I think this is the only time I will ever agree with you, Xana." said Ulrich.

Xana lightly chuckled as he made the Scyphozoa appear before Ulrich's eyes. Xana charged forward as he and Ulrich clashed however they knocked all of theirs out of each other's hands. Xana quickly kicked Ulrich and grabbed two swords that fell into his hands. Ulrich quickly grabbed the long sword that fell out of the air and gripped it.

Xana spun his newly acquired swords around, each sword missing each other. He spun them together clashing them which sparked electricity out from the force. While Yumi and Odd were busy trying to protect Franz Hopper Ulrich was forced to face Xana in a one on two duel. With the Scyphozoa at Xana's side the battle was about to be intense.

Ulrich stared at Xana, displaying his bitter hatred for the demonic artificial intelligence. He had to end it here. He wasn't going to let the mad computer program win. Ulrich charged at Xana screaming all the way.

Ulrich jumped into the air and brought his sword down on the digital villain. Xana simply blocked the attack with both of his swords. He then pushed Ulrich back into the air and commanded the Scyphozoa to attack by smacking Ulrich in the chest knocking him into the wall. Xana flew at Ulrich with his swords held high.

Ulrich looked up and charged Xana while the handle of his sword in both hands. Xana clashed both smaller swords with Ulrich's much longer sword and they ended up struggling against each other. Ulrich leapt back and attacked, striking at the right sword. Xana gave a hard thrust with the left sword but Ulrich managed to duck under the attack.

Xana spun his swords around Ulrich who clashed at a fast pace with both swords. Clanging sounds were heard upon each impact. Ulrich did his best to block the attacks with his one sword but Xana was too fast and rammed his head into Ulrich sending him sliding back. Rubbing his head Ulrich looked up to see Xana gone. He quickly looked around leaving no stone unturned.

He then turned to his right to see a massive stream of red lightning.

**"Lightning Arc!"**

The energy hit Ulrich sending him crashing into the wall. He fell to the ground leaving a big hole in the wall. Xana flew down with his arms crossed and an evil smirk across his face. He expected the battle to be over when Ulrich stood up weakly brushing dirt off his clothes.

Ulrich ran at Xana again while the mad AI awaited his next move.

"Thunder Blade!"

Ulrich unleashed a blue energy wave but the Scyphozoa simply blocked the attacks. Ulrich ran at Xana with his sword ready to strike. Xana charged at Ulrich and slashed at him but Ulrich jumped over the attack and retaliated with a hard kick. Xana dodged by moving his head back.

Ulrich landed on the ground and gave a hard thrust which Xana blocked with one sword. He slashed the samurai in the back with his other sword which sent Ulrich sliding across the ground. Ulrich felt the damage inflicted upon him. He quickly got back up only to be smacked aside by the Scyphozoa.

He slid back but jumped forward ready to try again. How he wished Yumi and Odd could help him. He knew he couldn't give up now. Not when the entire world was depending on him.

Ulrich slashed at Xana again who ducked under the attack and retaliated with an upper cut. Ulrich was sent into the air again and Xana fired his Lightning Arc again. Ulrich quickly put up his sword to block the attack. Xana was surprised as Ulrich's stopped the attack.

Ulrich quickly gave a hard slash which sent Xana crashing into the ground. The impact created a giant hole with four cracks on the sides of the circle slowly moving outward. He looked at where the corrupted digital entity was. The ground began to rumble under his feet.

Bright red lights started to surround Xana as more cracks began to form in the ground. Ulrich closed his eyes as an explosion occur and he looked to see giant stones in the air.

**"This is far from over!"**

Ulrich jumped onto one of the stones and kept jumping to where Xana was. Ulrich brought his sword down but Xana jumped off the stone and onto another. He then jumped back and kicked at Ulrich who managed to duck under the attack. The samurai clashed with one sword and then with another.

The two jumped off and landed on two other stones. The two jumped at each other and spun around. The sounds of swords clashing with each other was heard. It was a truly fantastic battle.

Ulrich side stepped an attack, Xana blocked a hard thrust until Xana finally knocked Ulrich's sword out of his hand giving the virtual villain a chance to attack. He gave Ulrich a hard slash which knocked him to the ground. Ulrich looked to his side and noticed his sword was close by. Xana charged Ulrich again who spun to the left and grabbed his sword.

He clashed with Xana again who started to show signs of annoyance.

**"It amazes me. How can you still be fighting?"**

Ulrich struggled to find the answer. However he felt his confidence slipping. The mad computer program had him pinned down to the ground. He then thought back.

"Because . . ."

Xana's eyes widened as Ulrich started to push him back.

"I fight for my friends!"

Ulrich finally pushed back the swords and knocked Xana back. Ulrich angrily swung his sword as Xana called the Scyphozoa to block the attack. The demonic AI was rarely surprised and this time was no different. He wasn't surprised.

He was speechless!

With a hard a slash the Scyphozoa was sliced in two and destroyed. Xana gasped in fear as he slowly stepped back. Where did he get that power from!?

**"That's impossible! You destroyed my Scyphozoa!"**

Ulrich weakly stood up. It seemed things were finally looking good for him. With Xana in shock for the moment Ulrich used Super Flash to attack Xana. He gave an uppercut, vertical slash, and all sorts of attacks.

Xana was sent flying into the air as Ulrich pointed his sword at Xana. He charged it up until it was at full power and then released it.

"Thunder Blade!"

Xana screamed in pain as the energy hit him. Ulrich rapidly slashed Xana and not giving a chance to counter. Xana couldn't understand how Ulrich managed to turn the battle around. Ulrich quickly kicked Xana in the chest and knocked him into the air.

Ulrich then jumped into the air and passed Xana before hammering him into the ground. As soon Xana hit the ground there was a giant explosion of light.

* * *

Odd screamed wildly as he fired.

"Take this, Xana!" shouted Odd.

Thousands of shots were fired at the white orb as it dodged. The Kolossus stood by and watched the carnage. That was when they saw it. The monsters stopped and stood still like statues.

Yumi suddenly realized that was where Ulrich last seen.

"Ulrich!"

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She saw him and ran over as fast as she could. Ulrich got up as he groaned. He looked to see Yumi flying at him.

"Oof!"

Yumi ran into Ulrich's arms, hugging him tightly. That was when he saw Odd and Franz Hopper.

"Are you all right?" asked Yumi,

"I'm fine now. I'm just glad you and the others are okay." said Ulrich.

Yumi would have blushed if she wasn't virtual.

"Hey, all for one and one for all! We stick together like trios should! The knights in shining armor and kimono!" said Odd,

"And the cat tail." added Ulrich.

"I think it is a little early to celebrate." said Franz Hopper.

**"Your prediction is correct, Franz."**

Everyone looked in shock and horror as Xana rose from the crater.

"But I thought I got rid of you." said Ulrich.

**"Did you really that you could destroy me?"**

"Pretty much." said Odd.

**"Allow me to explain. Have you noticed now that all of my monsters could have continued firing on you? I could order them to attack right now so why not?"**

The remaining warriors noticed that none of Xana's monsters, not even the Kolossus, have moved since the explosions.

**"This is a little trick I have thinking of for a long time. Thanks to possessing Ulrich's body as my avatar and I can increase its powers by absorbing the energies of my monsters and my Replicas. Now let's test it."**

As he finished the monsters started to faded into thousands of red Xana eyes that spun around Xana and entered his body. His figure pulsed with red energy as he smirked.

_"Everyone watch out! Xana's power is sky rocketing! He has even more power than the Kolossus!"_

**"Thank you for the update, Jeremy. Now let's take this new power for a spin!"**

Xana stuck his hand out to the warriors and created a dark wave of energy. The wave formed into a hand made of red and black energy that grabbed Yumi and Odd. Ulrich tried to rescue them but the hand smacked him aside and tossed Yumi and Odd into the Digital Sea.

"Yumi! Odd! No!" shouted Ulrich.

He watched as they fall and hit the Digital Sea with a loud splash. Ulrich fell to his knees as he felt himself go numb. He knew this was it. No matter how hard he tried Xana was too powerful.

He almost couldn't hear Xana laughing in the background. That was when he heard something. He looked to see a white orb of energy coming out of the sea. He realized it was Franz Hopper.

Franz Hopper floated up to the ground and dropped two figures. Ulrich gasped when he saw it was Yumi and Odd.

"They will be okay, Ulrich. You must hurry. Ulrich, you're the only one left. You must end this fight or the entire planet will be at Xana's mercy." said Franz Hopper.

_"He's right, Ulrich. Xana's extending his power all over the digital net. It we don't hurry than he will be able to breach the barriers between us and Lyoko."_

That was when Ulrich realized failure was not an option. He knew he shouldn't quit because of Xana's advantage. In fact he was now looking for a challenge. He found the strength within he pushed himself up.

Xana was so sure his victory against Ulrich was successful. He gritted his teeth in frustration as Ulrich stood up.

**"Such persistence!"**

Holding his swords in his hands Ulrich stood ready. This was the final battle and it wasn't going to be easy.

"It's time to finish you, Xana!" shouted Ulrich.

**"Really? I dare you to do so!"**

Ulrich flew at Xana as he held his swords while screaming with all of his might. He brought his swords down on Xana's long sword that he managed to retrieve. The two struggled against each other and pushed back and forth. Xana pushed Ulrich back with all of his weight.

Ulrich quickly recovered and charged at Xana again. The mentally berserk computer program spun his sword and tried to swipe at the samurai. However Ulrich managed to deliver a hard slash. Ulrich grinned for a second before receiving a fast upper cut. Ulrich managed to recover and flew at Xana again.

The two fighters hacked and slashed only to meet in a lock. Ulrich's swords were in an X while Xana's long sword was between them. However Ulrich managed fling Xana upwards who simply flipped in mid-air and landed on the ground.

"Super Flash!"

Ulrich ran at his foe and slashed with both of his blades. Xana however simply dodged the strike and slashed Ulrich's back. Ulrich ignored the slash and spun around to slash Xana with all of his might. Xana blocked the attack and then punched Ulrich before launching him into the air with his sword.

Before he could recover Xana managed to land some hard blows that forced him to hit a boulder. Before he could move he felt Xana's blade pierce his shoulder. Ulrich was surprised that he wasn't devirtualized in any of all the fights he had been in.

**"Amazing fight you have put up. However in the end the result was what I had predicted. I'll give your friends your regard."**

"Thanks for that, Xana." said a voice.

Odd and Yumi came and rammed into Xana's back forcing him to pull his sword out of Ulrich to block incoming arrows and disks. He ducked his head as Odd threw a punch and kicked Ulrich aside as he tried to swipe him. He grabbed Yumi and Odd threw them into Ulrich knocking them down. Xana then fired lasers which the trio dodged by jumped all over the place.

Ulrich kicked into the air and furiously charged at Xana. Once again the two clashed and sparks were created from the blows. Xana sent a hard thrust to Ulrich's head who dodged it. Xana was about to bring his sword down when Odd and Yumi came above and hammered him into the ground.

He kicked back back and slashed them both. Xana unleashed his Lightning Arc three times which they all dodged. Odd and Yumi fired Laser Arrows and disks at him which he dodged. Xana kept firing red lasers at them until Ulrich fired his Thunder Blade which Xana counter attacked with Lightning Arc. A giant explosion was the result of the impact.

As the dust cleared the trio of heroes could still be seen alive. They were panting heavily. Xana was sill having a hard time. He couldn't believe it. Nothing he tried got rid of these three.

"We cherish too many things and that's what gives us the strength to fight. That's why you can't win!" said Ulrich.

Ulrich flew at Xana with his swords gripped tightly in his hands. Xana growled angrily and tried to swipe Ulrich but the samurai swung his swords and split his sword in two. Xana was left stunned. He lost the battle. He knew it was over.

Ulrich finally ended the battle with a slash to Xana's chest which created a giant cut of red light. It started to turn into a great ball of light that expanded and engulfed Xana.

**"NO!"**

There was a giant explosion before their eyes. Everyone remained calm for the moment knowing it was all over. Ulrich began to fall when the others caught him.

"Are you okay?" asked Yumi,

"You bet!" said Ulrich with a big smile and giving them a thumbs up.

"That was amazing! You were like 'Hiya!' and Xana was like 'Ahh!'." said Odd.

He started doing bad imitations of both Ulrich and Xana. Ulrich and Yumi started laughing their heads off.

"That was a truly fantastic battle, Ulrich. It seems the towers have all been deactivated. Now all that is left is to destroy this place." said Franz Hopper.

Odd looked behind them as he swore he saw something. His thoughts were confirmed when he saw something move. It was in the shadows at first but then it got closer. He was petrified with fear when he saw who it was.

"Odd? Are you all right?" asked Franz,

"X . . .X . . .X . . ." stuttered Odd.

"What is it?" asked Ulrich,

"XANA!" shouted Odd.

The others spun around quickly and gasped in horror. They saw Xana clutching his chest and feeling very weak.

"But that's impossible! How did you survive?!" said Ulrich.

Xana looked at Ulrich heavily. He was exhausted from the last battle. He slowly lifted his head to get a good look at Ulrich.

**"You can't destroy me! I am sealed to this body."**

Ulrich glared at him.

_"I understand. Ulrich, I know how to kill Xana."_

"How, Jeremy?" shouted Ulrich.

_"If Xana has completely possessed your body than that means the only way to kill him is to kill your body."_

"And what will happen to his body?!" shouted Yumi, not liking the plan one bit.

_"I don't know."_

"Then forget it. We're not doing it." said Yumi.

_"Yumi, think about it. This might be the only chance we'll ever have to get rid of Xana once and for all."_

Xana grinned at them.

**"So what will you do? If you kill me than you might not ever live in the real world again. However if you don't you might have a chance of getting your body back. Are you really going to risk it?"**

Ulrich gritted his teeth. He knew Xana was just taunting him. That's what he has always done. That was when Ulrich nodded.

"Yes." said Ulrich,

"Ulrich! No!" shouted Yumi.

Ulrich ran forward and stabbed his sword into Xana's chest. Right into the center of the Eye. That's what caused the Volcano Sector go unstable.

"Jeremy, devirtualize everyone now!" shouted Ulrich, while looking into Xana's red eyes.

"No!" shouted Yumi.

She ran forward and latched onto Ulrich's back.

"I am not leaving you again!" shouted Yumi.

Odd and Franz were devirtualized as the sky grew dark. The sector began to drain of skin mappings leaving nothing but solid wire crossing frames. They began to vanish along with the skin mappings. The towers stopped glowing and followed suit.

It was only a matter of time before it would all fall into the Digital Sea.

"Yumi, go!" shouted Ulrich,

"I'm not loosing you again!" shouted Yumi.

Ulrich could only sigh frustration at Yumi's stubbornness. The sky was now pitch black.

* * *

Hiroki sat in front of the scanner with his knees pulled up to his chest. Everyone looked with sad looks. Aelita kneeled down to Hiroki as he sobbed silently. This was not supposed to happen.

They were suppose to be celebrating. Xana would be defeated, William would be free, and Ulrich would get his body back. Instead Xana managed to take them down with him.


	48. Chapter 48

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Jeremy, Odd, Aelita, Franz, Sissy, Hiroki, and William were all gathered in the lab. None of them said a word as Jeremy looked over the data. It was seven AM in the morning as it was just only yesterday they took part in the final battle against Xana. It was only a few minutes later when Jeremy turned around. 

"I have some good news." said Jeremy,

"And what's that?" asked Odd.

"I think I might have found a way to restore Yumi and Ulrich." said Jeremy.

That's what brought all their eyes up.

"Aelita can enter the towers and enter the Lyoko code that is used to deactivate the tower that is under the control of Xana. I may have a found a way to restore them but there is a slight risk." said Jeremy,

"And what would that be?" asked Aelita.

"The code I am talking about is Code: Reboot. It takes the remaining fragments of a deleted program and restores all missing data along with any digital object that has been saved." said Jeremy,

"It creates a power surge that will restore everything that was saved without error. However the only way to restore Yumi and Ulrich would be to use the Code: Reboot to restore the Volcano Sector." said Franz.

"The risk is we might resurrect Xana." said Jeremy.

Everyone looked at each other and then back Jeremy and Franz.

"That's a risk I am willing to take. Sure we might bring the back the ultimate evil but if there is a chance to restore Yumi and Ulrich than I'll say we do it." said Odd,

"I agree." said Aelita.

"So do I." said Hiroki,

"Me three." said William.

Jeremy and Franz looked at each other and nodded.

"Okay, Aelita you must be virtualized onto Lyoko and head to Sector 5. I'll start up the procedure." said Jeremy.

* * *

_"Transfer Aelita."_

_"Scanner Aelita."_

_"Virtualization!"_

Aelita landed in the familiar blue colored surroundings of Carthage. She quickly took off and ran through the Core Zone towards the Celestial Dome. She finally reached the elevator and waited as it traveled up to the final platform. When it was done she walked up to the panel she used so many times when Sector 5 was still Xana's data bank.

She placed her hand on the screen.

AELITA

CODE: REBOOT

_"Launching the program!"_

That was when everything froze. Deep in the corridors of Sector 5 the Core of Lyoko sent out a surge of energy. Through the massive wires pulsed energy and gathered in the Way Towers. All of them started to glow green as energy started to gather.

Then the Way Tower released energy that was collected and gathered in all of the other towers of Lyoko. All towers started to glow green as the energy built up. The Lyoko Warriors watched as the Core and the Towers continued to charge for a few more minutes. Then the Core released an energy surge that traveled through the data streams into the other sectors through the wires and into the towers.

That was when the towers started to glow sea blue. Soon enough they all released an energy surge that became so large that when it went right through Lyoko's shell it swept through the Digital Sea with such force and power. That was when they saw it. The Volcano Sector slowly getting restored.

The Sector reconstructed itself and sent a power surge that was sent back to the original Lyoko. That was when they saw it. Two Lyoko Avatars appearing in the Desert Sector.

"Materialization Yumi!"

"Materialization Ulrich!"

Jeremy launched the program and everyone bolted down to the scanners. They looked to see the scanners close and then open to reveal two familiar characters.

"Yumi!" shouted Hiroki.

She ran up and hugged her sister. Everyone had tears and smiles on their faces as they welcomed their friends back. Yumi and Ulrich looked on with smiles. They made it. Everyone hugged tearfully.

That was when Jeremy's laptop started beeping. He opened it and the screen revealed an activated tower.

"Looks like Xana wasted no time in going back to his old tricks. Everyone ready?" asked Jeremy,

"Is that a trick question?" asked Ulrich.

Everyone smiled and waited as Jeremy virtualized them all into Lyoko to carry on the fight. Sure they still had to fight Xana but they were all happy about it. It put excitement into their lives and one day they will all be able to live in peace. In a world without danger.

* * *

In the Volcano Sector it looked like nothing had changed. That was when the wire frame of a human body appeared in thin air. The wires were blood red and wire frame completed itself to reveal a familiar entity. It was none other than Xana in the same form he took when he completely possessed Ulrich's body. 

He looked completely the same with his black body suit with red lines and the Eye on the hands, chest, and headband. He opened his eyes to reveal the familiar black irises and his red symbol as the eyes. He looked down at himself and stretched his limbs.

**"Luckily I always have a back up plan. They think that just because Ulrich got his body back means I am finished. Fools, I possessed it long enough to make sure I had copied everything. Replicating Ulrich's DNA might have taken a while but it was worth and I have been able to materialize a clone of Yumi that was flesh and blood before."**

He looked around and pulled up some boulders. It revealed the Scyphozoa fully healed as it came out and bowed. Xana pulled out his long red sword and fired at a boulder. It exploded and in the flames came out a familiar teen wearing all back with red highlights and the Eye on his chest.

He brandished a long and wide sword with Eye on the hilt and black vines crawling on the side like blood veins.

"Master." said the figure.

**"You win some, you loose some. I still have many plans in store for the humans and as for the Lyoko Warriors . . . They'll pay for what they have done!"**


	49. Chapter 49

Lord Maximus: I don't own Code: Lyoko.

Summary: What if Xana had managed to destroy Lyoko's Core while possessing Ulrich's body during Nobody in Particular? What if the battle was much harder than they would have guessed?

* * *

Greetings everyone! I would like to thank you all for all the reviews you have given me so far. There have been a few spelling and grammar issues but I plan to edit and correct those mistakes along the way. For now everyone I am sorry but right now I have absolutely no idea for the Series 2 of Code Lyoko: Reloaded. 

I spent so much ideas on the first series that it will take a little while but that was when I had an idea. You all love this story right since you have reviewed so much since I started and I love it that you encourage me to keep on writing. That is why I need you help. I need ideas, plots, Xana attacks, and see if we can make some stories for Franz Hopper's past along with Lyoko or the Men in Black.

Send me your ideas and they may just show up in this fic if you want it to continue. But if you want to not continue fine by me. I would like to thank all of my reviewers.

PeaceTothePeople

burgessa

NoRatCat: Even thought you only reviewed once that's enough for me. Thank you!

Hatter M.

Kioshie

furturehottie

AussieUlrich

P3NGUiiN Punk

Dartz the Fire Demon

angel-phantom-babii

Lost Animus

aquaanime

yumi2482

MasteroftheForce

FormicHiveQueen

Tomboy 601

Frozen-Tundra88

And to my anonymous reviewers I haven't forgotten any of you.

So if any out there wants Code Lyoko: Reloaded to continue than send in your ideas.

Review now and let Code Lyoko: Reloaded Series 2 begin!


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